Robert
Whittaker is simply glad to be fighting Ikram
Aliskerov even though he had never heard of his opponent before
their booking was announced.
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Whittaker was originally scheduled to headline
UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia against Khamzat
Chimaev on June 22. However, Chimaev was replaced by newcomer
Ikram
Aliskerov on nine days’ notice after the Chechen-born Swede
fell “violently ill.”
Whittaker claims to have found out about Chimaev pulling out at the
same time as the rest of the MMA community. While “Bobby Knuckles”
had prepared for months for Chimaev’s unique style, the former
champ didn’t hesitate to accept a fight against an unknown
opponent.
“I had a pretty Chimaev-ready game plan,” Whittaker told the New
York Post Sports. “Chimaev’s a pretty unique fighter, and he fights
a unique way. So I had a game plan I’d worked for months leading
into that. But Ikram brings a different threat to the table. I
hadn’t heard of him or seen him fight before that, so sometimes you
just got to take things as they come. And yeah, I have full faith
in my skill sets and my ability.”
Whittaker, who has accepted his fair share of short-notice fights
in his career, doesn’t really think much of it. “The Reaper” is
rather glad to have a fight still in place after months of
investment.
“The key thing is I’m just thankful, to not only my team and the
UFC for making the fight happen, [but] to Ikram himself,” Whittaker
said. “Like I said, I’ve put in so much work to get to the fight
and it would be devastating to not fight. So, the fact that I’m
able to get in there and still perform and earn a living, feed my
family, I’m blessed.”
Whittaker will be big step up in UFC competition for Aliskerov, who
started his promotional journey with back-to-back first round
finishes. UFC president CEO Dana White called it a life-changing
opportunity for Aliskerov while Whittaker seemingly has everything
to lose against a regional veteran whose lone career loss came
against Chimaev at a
Brave Combat Federation event in 2019. Regardless, Whittaker
can’t be certain of an immediate title shot with a win over
Aliskerov. For Whittaker, the only upside is that he gets to fight.
Whittaker is currently focused on getting his hand raised against
Aliskerov, which he believes is bound to open up avenues.
“This is what I do for a living. I don’t know, that is the upside,”
Whittaker said. “I get to do what I’m good at and earn a decent
living off it. I get to put food in the table for my family, that’s
the upshot. This is what I was born to do and I’m gonna do it…
Gotta win this [and] worry about everything else [later]. That’s
how I approach everything, even with the Chimaev fight, it was just
about winning the fight. Winning opens doors, no matter how you
win, no matter who you beat, it opens doors for you, that’s the
nature of the game.”