Robert Whittaker explains why he accepted Khamzat Chimaev fight for UFC 308 despite cancelation last time in Saudi Arabia
08/07/2024 10:09 AM
It was a highly anticipated fight that failed to materialize at the first time of asking, yet Robert Whittaker has a chance to derail the Chimaev hype-train once again; this time on a UFC PPV.
If you missed the news over this past weekend, Dana White officially announced the top four fights for UFC 308, scheduled for October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi – and included on the card is the re-booking of 'The Reaper' versus the undefeated 'Borz'.
Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev announced for UFC 308
As per the UFC, the main event of the UFC 308 evening will see Ilia Topuria defending his featherweight title against Max Holloway in what’s expected to be a Fight of the Year contender.
In the co-main event, middleweights Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker and 13-0 contender Khamzat Chimaev finally come to blows; with the pair originally meant to face each other back in June, before ‘Borz’ pulled out with health concerns.
The fight announcement itself has been met with somewhat of a mixed reaction due to the nature of Chimaev’s most recent withdrawal and his rather delusional calls for an immediate title shot – so why did Whittaker accept such a fight, considering he’d already ‘won’ in the court of public opinion?
Robert Whittaker explains why he accepted the fight against Chimaev
Since the re-booked fight was announced for October, there have been numerous comments under Whittaker's social media posts about how the former middleweight champion should have steered away from taking the Chimaev fight a second time.
Unsurprisingly, given his 'Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime' attitude towards fighting, Whittaker sees UFC 308 as his chance to right the wrongs, or rather, get back that missed opportunity from June.
"That's not how the business works – unfortunately, the business isn't completely run on merit," Whittaker explained on the latest episode of the MMArcade Podcast, sharing how he believes this is a case of the UFC desperately trying to push the undefeated phenom into title contention.
"Chimaev is a hard fight, he's obviously a big draw especially over there in Abu Dhabi… And I think the UFC story-wise wants to see Chimaev get a shot at the champion… They want to see Chimaev at the top of the ladder and in that [title] picture.
"But I love disrupting their plans, I love derailing their stories and that's why I took the fight – did you know I asked for the fight? Straight after the last one, I saw there was an Abu Dhabi card in October, so the timeline fits perfectly."
Thankfully, considering how their last scheduled fight failed to come together, the former middleweight king made it crystal clear to the promotion that he'd accept the offer, only if they guaranteed that his opponent would actually show up on October 26.
"I was like 'I'll fight Chimaev again, just make sure he turns up!'"
Poignantly, Whittaker also revealed how whilst fans may see a missed opportunity in taking the 'Borz' fight a second time, he sees UFC 308 as his righteous path to securing a shot at re-claiming his old title.
"I look forward to hard fights, I look forward to these fights and I know that if I beat Chimaev, there is nothing in my way to getting my belt back… And Chimaev, as dangerous as he is, I don't go into these fights thinking about what I have to lose.
"Every fight is a risk, and I only go into fight because I have the confidence that I'm going to beat and smash whoever in front of me… And that doesn't change with Chimaev."
Despite Chimaev being forced out of their June clash with health issues, Whittaker would still accept the short-notice replacement of Ikram Aliskerov – that fight ended with a Reaper KO inside the first two minutes of the contest.
