Robert Whittaker still open to fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC Saudi Arabia: 'We can settle the score'
24/06/2024 13:40
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?
