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Robert Whittaker mocks ‘See you soon’ jibe from Khamzat Chimaev: ‘You can’t get into any country’

Robert Whittaker mocks Khamzat Chimaev see you soon you can't get into any country Robert Whittaker doesn’t understand why Khamzat Chimaev has told him he will see him soon after UFC Saudi Arabia….

Robert Whittaker doesn’t understand why Khamzat Chimaev has told him he will see him soon after UFC Saudi Arabia.

Whittaker and Chimaev were supposed to headline the card, but just over a week out from the scrap, Chimaev was forced out due to an illness. Ikram Aliskerov replaced Chimaev and Whittaker made quick work of the unranked middleweight as he scored a first-round knockout.

Following the win, Chimaev took to social media to call out Whittaker and say he’ll see him soon.

“Congratulations [Robert Whittaker] we are not done!” He wrote (via Google Translate). “I wish you a speedy recovery [Ikram Aliskerov] keep your head up my brother.”

Speaking on his MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker responded to the comment and laughed it off saying Khamzat Chimaev can’t get into any country.

“Well, I will say, ‘See you soon?’ It’s like, where? You can’t get into any country,” Whittaker said. “Where are you going to see me, bro? When I’m in the area, right? Yeah. So that’s tricky to start with.”

Following the win over Aliskerov, Whittaker is hoping to fight for the UFC middleweight title next time out and mentioned being the backup fighter for the Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya bout.

Robert Whittaker expects to fight Khamzat Chimaev down the line

Although Robert Whittaker is hoping to fight for the middleweight title next time out, he isn’t ruling out fighting Khamzat Chimaev down the line.

Khamzat Chimaev picked to land KO win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia he's got power

Whittaker has made it clear he’s willing to fight anyone and the Aussie knows he and Chimaev are both two of the best middleweights, so he knows it’s only a matter of time until they fight.

“Mate, I’m a middleweight. I don’t pick my fights. If that’s a fight that UFC wants and are still are interested in making, and they want me to to headline another card out that way? That’s what I do. That’s why I do this. Right? Our paths are sure to cross. We’re both top 10 middleweights. That’s kind of the game,” Whittaker said.

Robert Whittaker is 26-7 as a pro and is riding a two-fight winning streak as before the knockout win over Aliskerov he scored a decision win over Paulo Costa.

Robert Whittaker underwent emergency surgery ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia, hoping to return at UFC 305

After his quick finish of Ikram Aliskerov in Riyadh, Robert Whittaker is hoping to land a spot on the…

After his quick finish of Ikram Aliskerov in Riyadh, Robert Whittaker is hoping to land a spot on the UFC’s upcoming card in Perth.

Lurking in the shadows of the middleweight top 10 for the last few years, Whittaker made a pretty big statement inside Kingdom Arena, dispatching one of the division’s most exciting prospects in less than two minutes and immediately thrusting himself back into title talks.

Having suffered little to no damage, ‘The Reaper’ is looking to make a quick turnaround by either competing at UFC 305 on August 17 in The Land Down Under or serving as a backup for the event’s massive middleweight headliner between reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.

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However, before any of that can happen, Whittaker will have to take care of a lingering issue that popped up right before he made his way to Saudi Arabia.

“Rob has a really bad abscess that flared up a week before flying out,” Whittaker’s manager Titus Day told Fox Sports Australia. “He had headaches, tooth pain, it was like he’d been kicked in the side of the head. He couldn’t train, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. It was f*cking painful.

“The whole side of his head was in pain so we had to rush him in for emergency surgery” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Robert Whittaker won’t commit to UFC 305 return until undergoing more surgery

Fortunately, the post-surgery swelling subsided enough for him to step inside the Octagon on Saturday night and deliver another highlight-reel-worthy performance. With more surgery scheduled to be done within the next few weeks, Whittaker and his team are in wait-and-see mode before making any further commitments to the UFC.

“Right now, regarding Perth, it’s just too early to say,” Day said. “Obviously there was a lot of talk on the night about Rob being the backup for that UFC 305 main event. There was also talk about him fighting somebody else, too. And potentially, he could still do either of those. He’ll have to meet with the team and talk it through.”

Whittaker has now won four of his last six fights, his two losses coming against the men who will headline UFC 305 later this year.

Ikram Aliskerov issues statement after KO loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia: ‘No excuses’

Ikram Aliskerov says he has no regrets about stepping up on short notice to face Robert Whittaker in the…

Ikram Aliskerov says he has no regrets about stepping up on short notice to face Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia.

Aliskerov stepped up on just over a week’s notice to face Whittaker after he was supposed to fight Antonio Trocoli at UFC Vegas 95 the week prior. But, after Khamzat Chimaev was forced out of the bout, Aliskerov jumped at the chance to fight the former champ.

However, Ikram Aliskerov suffered a first-round knockout loss to Robert Whittaker. Although Aliskerov suffered a rather one-sided loss, he issued a statement saying he has no regrets over his decision.

Alhamdulilla, no excuses. I don’t regret anything. It was a big experience against one of the best in the sport. I'm young, I'll work on my mistakes , learn and get back into business soon.Thank to everyone for support messages.

— ikram_aliskerov (@ikram_aliskerov) June 23, 2024

“Alhamdulilla, no excuses. I don’t regret anything. It was a big experience against one of the best in the sport. I’m young, I’ll work on my mistakes , learn and get back into business soon. Thank to everyone for support messages,” Aliskerov wrote on X.

Although Aliskerov did lose, as he says he stepped up on short notice to fight one of the best middleweights in the world in Whittaker, which was a good experience for him.

As well, this was only Aliskerov’s third fight in the UFC, so he still has plenty of time to work his way back up the middleweight ranks.

Dana White said no one wanted to fight Ikram Aliskerov before UFC Saudi Arabia

Before taking the fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia, Ikram Aliskerov was 2-0 in the UFC with two first-round knockout wins.

Given how dominant Aliskerov was looking, UFC CEO Dana White said no one wanted to fight him except for Whittaker who had no issue taking the fight at UFC Saudi Arabia.

“This guy would’ve been the co-main event last weekend. He had a full camp. He came in. Khamzat (Chimaev) calls this guy one of the toughest fights he’s ever had and Whittaker made it look easy tonight. He looked like a stud,” White said after UFC Saudi Arabia, via MMAJunkie.

With the loss to Whittaker, Aliskerov is now 15-2 as a pro and is 2-1 in the UFC.

Robert Whittaker still open to fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC Saudi Arabia: ‘We can settle the score’

Despite missing out on a clash with the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia over the course of…

Despite missing out on a clash with the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia over the course of the weekend, former champion, Robert Whittaker is still open to the possibility of taking on the Chechen-born star – following his own blistering finish victory in Riyadh.

Whittaker, the current number three ranked contender at the middleweight limit, headlined the promotion’s first outing in Saudi Arabia over the course of the weekend – turning in an impressive first round win over short-notice replacement, Ikram Aliskerov.

Handing the Dagestani striker his first loss in seven fights, Whittaker felled the Contender Series product with an impressive uppercut shot, landing a blistering knockout victory – and his first stoppage win since a 2017 knockout of perennial contender, Jacare Souza.

Receiving a stark warning from Chimaev – who was reportedly forced from UFC Saudi Arabia through a “violent” illness – in the immediate aftermath of his win, Whittaker was warned that the duo still had business inside the Octagon.

Robert Whittaker open to Khamzat Chimaev fight

And welcoming the chance to settle their differences in the future despite their cancelled showdown, Whittaker, who has also been linked with serving as a backup fighter to August’s middleweight title fight between past opponents, Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 – remains open to facing Chimaev.

“Don’t jump me as soon as I finish a fight,” Robert Whittaker joked to assembled media after his UFC Saudi Arabia triumph. “I don’t want people to do that – I say that. But I probably did that once or twice as well. Let me have this one for a little bit, alright? We can settle the score another day.”

As well as a potential role as backup fighter at UFC 305, Whittaker has been urged to pursue a definitive title-eliminator against fellow former champion, Sean Strickland on the same card in Perth later this summer.

Who do you think wins in a potential fight: Robert Whittaker or Khamzat Chimaev?

Alexander Volkov threatens to ‘call the cops’ on Sergei Pavlovich after shoving incident at UFC Saudi Arabia

Alexander Volkov delivered an impressive three-round performance against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Saudi Arabia. However, it was what happened…

Alexander Volkov delivered an impressive three-round performance against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Saudi Arabia. However, it was what happened after the fight that garnered most of the attention.

Despite stepping into the fight as a sizeable underdog, Volkov nearly doubled the output of his opponent and landed at a significantly higher clip, leading ‘Drago’ to a fourth-straight win in the heavyweight division.

Immediately following the fight, Volkov approached Pavlovich looking to squash any lingering beef between the two Russians.

Pavlovich wasn’t having any of it.

After being shoved by Pavlovich, the 6’7″ heavyweight addressed the incident during his post-fight interview.

“I don’t know [what happened], I just come to say, ‘Thank you for a great fight’ and he got mad,” Volkov told Daniel Cormier in the Octagon, adding that “Maybe [he shoved me because of] all the games before the fight.”

Asked about the situation during the post-fight press conference, Volkov revealed that it wasn’t necessarily the shove that he took offense to. It was a vulgar comment that Pavlovich directed toward him.

“I mean I didn’t think it was a nice thing to do from him, I guess he’s mad at me. I’m not really sure why and I would love to figure out why, maybe he just misunderstood something but it’s his fault, not mine. To be honest, this was the first time that I’ve ever heard Sergei curse because he kind of told me to—well I’m not going to repeat what he said—but this is the first time I’ve actually heard him maliciously use curse words in my direction” (h/t Bloody Elbow).

With the Russian knockout artists often occupying the same spaces back home, Volkov was asked what would happen if Pavlovich decided to try and restart their scrap behind closed doors.

“If he tries to attack me, I’ll call the cops,” Volkov added.

Alexander Volkov would ‘really like’ to fight for the title next

With the win over Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov is likely to find himself sitting in the No. 3 spot in the heavyweight rankings come Monday morning, priming him for a long-awaited shot at the division’s top prize.

“Yes, I would really like to fight for the title, but that’s beside the point,” Volkav replied when asked about what comes next. “I am an employee of the UFC and I’m going to have to not go with my wishes but go with what they say is right. There has been an unwritten agreement that that will be the case, but who it’s going to be [against] or where it’s going to be, we don’t really know yet.”

More importantly, Volkov wants to provide the fights that will excite the fans, whether that includes UFC gold or not.

“I would fight the fights that are interesting to the fans, that’s the primary goal,” he added.

Robert Whittaker ready for redemption against Du Plessis and Adesanya after brutal Aliskerov knockout

After making a statement against Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi Arabia, Robert Whittaker is ready for a bit of redemption….

After making a statement against Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi Arabia, Robert Whittaker is ready for a bit of redemption.

Stepping inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh for a scrap with one of the middleweight division’s most exciting prospects, ‘The Reaper’ delivered a highlight-reel-worthy finish in the opening round, blasting Aliskerov with a right hand followed by a KO-inducing uppercut less than two minutes into the scrap.

OH MY GOODNESS! ROBERT WHITTAKER KNOCKS OUT IKRAM ALISKEROV IN THE FIRST ROUND!#UFCSaudiArabia #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/I6FoXv0rBQ

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 22, 2024

With the victory, Whittaker is right back in the title picture at 185 and will be setting his sights on the upcoming clash between reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.

With ‘Stillknocks’ and the ‘Stylebender’ being the only two men to have beaten Whittaker in the last decade, ‘The Reaper’ has redemption on his mind. Particularly when it comes to Du Plessis, a man Whittaker believes he is truly better than.

“Look at the paperwork. Since that fight, I’ve only improved,’ Whittaker said, referring to his UFC 290 fight with DDP during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I’m not saying if I was on I would’ve beaten him. I’m not going to take that away from him,” Whittaker said. “He turned up on the day and beat me fair and square, and now he’s the world champion because of it; he’s a good fighter and he’s good at what he does.

“But I know I can do better. Will I beat him? Maybe he gets his hand raised again. But I know I can do better and I know I didn’t put my best foot forward in that fight, and I want to run it back because of that.”

Israel Adesanya is still on Robert Whittaker’s hit list

Of course, Robert Whittaker hasn’t forgotten about Israel Adesanya. Coming up short against the former two-time titleholder on two separate occasions, ‘Bobby Knuckles’ believes he’s more than ready to finally solve the puzzle and establish himself as the best middleweight in the world.

“Adesanya is still on that list. My goal in mixed martial arts is to live up to my own potential. That’s the only thing I want to achieve. I know how good I am. I’m the most dangerous middleweight on the planet, and everyone knows that. But they are big shoes to fill.

“That’s the only thing I ask for before I step in the Octagon, to live up to my own potential. Tonight, I think I did that.”

After suffering a second-round knockout against Adesanya at UFC 243, ‘The Reaper’ put on a much stronger showing in their 2022 rematch, though the ‘Stylebender’ still went home with his gold via a unanimous decision.

Whittaker truly feels that the third time will be the charm, and with Adesanya’s return to the Octagon right around the corner, he could be closer than ever to finally bagging that elusive third fight against his Nigerian nemesis.