UFC legend Robert Whittaker will take on Khamzat Chimaev as both fighters look to take a giant step towards a shot at the middleweight world title.
Australian fighter, Whittaker, is a former middleweight world champion but lost his belt in his first title defense to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243.
He has since tried, and failed, to win his belt back, losing to Adesanya again at UFC 271 and he is building towards a rematch against the current champion, Dricus Du Plessis.
Du Plessis knocked Whittaker out at UFC 290 to set up his world title shot at UFC 297, where he beat Sean Strickland to claim middleweight gold.
Whittaker took the first step on his rebuild with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 but he now faces the ‘Boogeyman’ of the middleweight division in Chimaev.
The 30-year-old boasts a perfect 13-0 MMA record and having bounced around the welterweight and middleweight divisions, he is now here to stay at middleweight following an impressive win over former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman last time out.
Ahead of the crossroads fight between the pair, Dexerto Sport has rounded up everything we know so far ahead of UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev.
Robert Whittaker wants to “see how big the hype is” against Khamzat Chimaev:
“I’m gonna go in there with the speed advantage and striking advantage. [Khamzat] can force the wrestling on people, and I think it’s going to be a little harder to force the wrestling on me.
[Khamzat]… pic.twitter.com/usPGbe9R9O
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 2, 2024
When and where is Whittaker vs Chimaev?
Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev will take place on Saturday, June 22, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
How can I watch Whittaker vs Chimaev?
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Fans in the US can watch on the prelims on ESPN+, while the main card will be broadcast on both ESPN+ and ABC.
Fans in the UK can watch the main card on TNT Sports.
What time does Whittaker vs Chimaev begin?
The prelims begin at 12pm ET, 9am PT and 5pm BST. The main card begins at 3pm ET, 12pm PT and 8pm BST.
Who is on the fight card of Whittaker vs Chimaev?
Whittaker vs Chimaev is supplemented by a stacked undercard. Number three ranked Sergei Pavlovich and number five ranked Alexander Volkov meet in an all-Russian clash at heavyweight.
Both men will be looking for the win that keeps them in title contention amid the uncertainty surrounding champion Jon Jones’ next fight and Tom Aspinall’s interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
And at light-heavyweight, Brazilian Johnny Walker will look to bounce back from his defeat to Magomed Ankalaev last time out when he takes on Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir.
| UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev main card |
| Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev (middleweight) |
| Sergei Pavlovich vs Alexander Volkov (heavyweight) |
| Johnny Walker vs Volkan Oezdemir (light-heavyweight) |
| Kelvin Gastelum vs Daniel Rodriguez (welterweight) |
| Shara Magomedov vs Jolton Lutterbach (middleweight) |
| Muhammad Naimov vs Melsik Baghdasaryan (featherweight) |
| Prelims |
| Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs Brendson Ribeiro (light-heavyweight) |
| Farid Basharat vs Montel Jackson (bantamweight) |
| Abu Azaitar vs Denis Tiuliulin (middleweight) |
| Rinat Fakhritdinov vs Nicolas Dalby (welterweight) |
| Nasrat Haqparast vs Jared Gordon (lightweight) |
| Kyung Ho Kang vs Muin Gafurov (bantamweight) |
| Xiao Long vs Chang Ho Lee (bantamweight) |
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