Robert Whittaker’s Challenge to Khamzat Chimaev: “We Can Settle It Another Day”
Robert Whittaker secured a significant victory in the main event at UFC Saudi Arabia against a formidable opponent, and shortly thereafter, his originally scheduled opponent Khamzat Chimaev took the opportunity to respond.
Chimaev’s Quick Reaction
After Whittaker delivered a first-round knockout to Ikram Aliskerov—Chimaev’s replacement—in Saturday’s main event, the undefeated Chimaev commented on the result via social media.
“Congratulations [Robert Whittaker], we are not done,” Chimaev said according to a Google translation on Twitter. “I wish you a speedy recovery [Ikram Aliskerov], keep your head up my brother”.
Поздравляю @robwhittakermma мы не закончили дело!
Желаю скорейшего восстановления @ikram_aliskerov выше голову брат мой ☝🏼🤝— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) June 22, 2024
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Whittaker’s Response to Chimaev’s Comments
Speaking with reporters following his second consecutive victory, Whittaker was asked about Chimaev’s comments. Whittaker laughed it off while also telling Chimaev to pump the brakes a little bit considering he had just completed a fight.
“Don’t jump me as soon as I finish a fight,” Whittaker said during the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I don’t want people to do that—I say that, but I probably did that once or twice as well. Let me have this one for a little bit, all right? We can settle the score another day”.
Plans for the Future
Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the matchup against Whittaker after falling ill less than two weeks before the UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia. It would have been Chimaev’s first fight of the year and first since his majority decision win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in October of the previous year.
In his post-fight interview, Whittaker expressed interest in being a backup for the UFC 305 middleweight championship headliner between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
“It’s on home soil, I plan to be there one way or another,” Whittaker said. “But I do need to go back and talk to my team. I need to talk to my team about it. We’ve got to work on the other guys who are preparing. I took this fight and it sort of pushed a lot of things around. I want to go back and talk to my team”.
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