The much anticipated UFC Saudi Arabia recently lost its biggest superstar, Khamzat Chimaev. With only one week away from the fight, the ‘Borz’ was forced to pull his name out of the fight against Robert Whittaker. Amidst all the speculations about Chimaev, his manager has finally made some concerning announcements.Â
UFC CEO Dana White previously broke the unfortunate news, claiming that Khamzat Chimaev was violently ill and wouldn’t recover in time for the fight. Chimaev’s manager then confirmed it through an Instagram post. According to his manager, Chimaev has suffered persistent illness throughout his training camp.
The persistent illness that Khamzat has been battling for major parts of training camp could not be cured in time. He has been in and out of hospitals several times. The condition has been kept within the team, since everyone has been absolutely committed to finding a solution…..Stepping into the cage not properly prepared against such a formidable opponent as Robert is unfortunately impossible.
Khamzat Chimaev’s manager via Instagram
Chimaev has seven UFC victories and remains unbeaten throughout his career. In his most recent fight, he defeated Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champion, via majority decision. The Chechen fighter might have entered the title picture if he had defeated a top middleweight like Robert Whittaker. Unfortunately, Chimaev will have to wait longer for his shot at the title.Â
The card was centered around Chimaev because of his popularity in the Middle East, and there was a lot of excitement surrounding the bout. Even though the fight was in rival territory, Whittaker was motivated to get his hand raised in Saudi Arabia. However, the Aussie middleweight might have never expected all this last-minute chaos.Â
Robert Whittaker takes on the new challenge despite the risk of losing it all
Following Khamzat Chimaev’s withdrawal from the main event in Saudi Arabia, the UFC made a last-ditch effort to reschedule Robert Whittaker against Ikram Alikerov. Aliskerov will now travel to Saudi Arabia to take on Whittaker instead of fighting Antonia TRacoli at UFC Vegas 93.Â
Robert Whittaker has everything to lose at UFC Saudi Arabia (via Imago)
The rumors about this change had already started to take momentum when Whittaker made an Instagram post. In the post, he essentially wrote that he was ready to fight anybody at any time. As a former champion, it was a bold move from Whittaker, given he has much to lose compared to his challenger.Â
However, that makes Whittaker one of the UFC’s most respected and loved fighters. The fighter never backs out of a challenge and always puts on a show for the fight fans. Nevertheless, all eyes are on the new main event and whether it can live up to the expectations of main eventing UFC’s first card ever in Saudi Arabia.Â
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