Robert Whittaker welcomed Ikram Aliskerov to his first UFC main event and then sent him packing into semi-consciousness in less than two minutes.
In the UFC on ABC 6 main event, Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) finished Aliskerov (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with punches at 1:49 of Round 1. The middleweight bout took place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A big overhand right put Aliskerov on roller skates. As Aliskerov scurried backward toward the fence, Whittaker missed on a head kick before he landed a hellacious uppercut. Two more follow up shots was all referee Marc Goddard needed to see to dive in – and he did.
After the fight, Whittaker expressed interest in serving in a backup role on Aug. 18 at UFC 305 in Perth, Western Australia. That card is headlined by the middleweight title fight between rivals Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
ROBERT WHITTAKER KNCOKS OUT ALISKEROV EARLY IN ROUND 1 #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/8WdNDqoYu4
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) June 22, 2024
Whittaker has now won back-to-back fights since a TKO loss to Du Plessis. His only other losses in his 18 most recent fights are two against Adesanya.
Aliskerov has a 17-fight winning streak snapped. Initially expected to face Antonio Trocoli at this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 58, Aliskerov accepted this fight on nine days’ notice after Khamzat Chimaev withdrew.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ABC 6 results include:
- Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:49
- Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:27
- Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:28
- Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:15
- Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeiro via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
- ChangHo Lee def. Xiao Long via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
