Headline: Battle of Titans News UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia. The UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia has a confirmed date and main event.
The event will take place in Riyadh on June 22 and will be headlined by a No. 1 contender’s battle at welterweight between former champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.
Whittaker is coming off an excellent victory against Paulo Costa in his most recent about, his first since being defeated by current champion Dricus Du Plessis via TKO in July 2023.
Battle of Styles: Chimaev vs. Whittaker Sets the Scene for Title Shot at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia
Chimaev, an undefeated fighter, upset former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by majority decision in October 2023. He’s been on a collision course for a title opportunity since July 2020, when he started tearing up the UFC.
Chimaev, one of the world’s greatest grapplers, will face Whittaker, one of the most skilled middleweight strikers. According to UFC CEO Dana White, the champion will be Du Plessis’ next opponent. Du Plessis claimed the championship over Sean Strickland in a contentious split decision in January.
The main event is a fight that could easily serve as the co-main on most UFC pay-per-view shows. The first UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia was scheduled for March, but according to a press statement released by Turki Alalshikh on X, it has been moved back to June to ensure “the best caliber of talent will be available to participate.”
Top-10 heavyweight in UFC fight night Saudi Arabia
In addition to Whittaker-Chimaev, the first UFC Saudi card will feature a top-10 heavyweight matchup between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov. The latter was originally billed as Jailton Almeida’s next fight at UFC 302, but that has since been altered.
In announcing the bout, UFC president Dana White stated that it will “see who will be the number one contender for the middleweight championship”.
Whittaker is now ranked third, trailing only Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya, with Chimaev placed 11th.
Dricus du Plessis is slated to face Israel Adesanya at the recently announced UFC 305 in Perth in August.
However, with Whittaker’s announcement to fight Chimaev in July, number one contender Sean Strickland is officially out of the title race.
26-7 Whittaker defeated Paulo Costa by majority decision at UFC 298 in February, surviving a nasty spinning heel kick. He stated afterward that if he couldn’t secure a rematch with Du Plessis, he wanted to fight Strickland for number-one contender status.
Whittaker’s Determination: Looking at a UFC fight night Saudi Arabia
He later told Fox Sports Australia, “My trajectory is going up. I want the UFC title back. And now that Dricus Du Plessis has the championship, I believe it makes complete sense to rematch our battle.
26-7 Whittaker defeated Paulo Costa by majority decision at UFC 298 in February, surviving a nasty spinning heel kick. He stated afterward that if he couldn’t secure a rematch with Du Plessis, he wanted to fight Strickland for number-one contender status.
He later told Fox Sports Australia, “My trajectory is going up. I want the UFC title back. And now that Dricus Du Plessis has the championship, I believe it makes complete sense to rematch our battle.
However, he told MMA Junkie of a fight with Chimaev: “That’s hard because it doesn’t move me. It does increase my clout, but it does not advance me up the ranks.
“I do not know. I want to battle guys from the top five. Beating Strickland puts me back at (No.) 1, which is about as close as you can go.”
Now he’ll have the opportunity to compete for the number one spot, but against one of the UFC’s most dangerous up-and-comers.
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