Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker made a statement on the UFC’s inaugural trip to Saudi Arabia, stopping Ikram Aliskerov in the first round.
Whittaker showed that he is still a force at the top of the 185-pound pision, using his world-class striking to take his opponent out of there in less than two minutes.
The 33-year-old Australian landed a right hand that sent Aliskerov reeling. He then missed with a right kick to the head, but followed up with a perfect uppercut that left the Russian slumped against the side of the cage.
The unranked but dangerous Aliskerov stepped up at the last minute to replace Khamzat Chimaev and many had questioned Whittaker’s wisdom in accepting the fight.
“I told you, I told everyone: I’m the boogeyman, I’m the best in the world and I’m the most dangerous matchup for anyone in the pision,” Whittaker told Danier Cormier after the fight.
“I’ll fight anywhere, anytime, and I proved it tonight and I’ll prove it again: I’ll fight anyone.”
Aliskerov arrived on a seven-match winning streak and, despite not being ranked in the top 15 at middleweight, was expected to cause problems for the Sydney resident with his powerful punch and solid ground game.
As it turned out, Whittaker was able to shrug off the challenge with ease, reminding the rest of the pision of The Reaper’s title credentials.
“I told everyone before this fight that I was going to trust my experience and that’s exactly what it was,” he added.
“I’ve been in this position 100 times, I understand what I’m doing, I told you, I’m going to be the hunter and that’s exactly what I did.”
Cormer then asked if Whittaker would be willing to act as a backup for the middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya taking place at UFC 305 in Perth: “I’m healthy, I’m tough, come on.”
Earlier, Alexader Volkov earned a three-round unanimous decision victory over compatriot Sergei Pavlovich in the heavyweight co-main event.