Ikram
Aliskerov believes Robert
Whittaker was well aware of his existence even before their
fight got booked.
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Whittaker was originally scheduled to face Khamzat
Chimaev in the main event at
UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 in Saudi Arabia. Chimaev was forced out
of the fight due to severe illness, and Aliskerov stepped up on
short notice to replace “Borz”. The weight cut was not an issue for
Aliskerov, as he was originally scheduled to face Brazilian
debutant Antonio
Trocoli at UFC
on ESPN 58 on June 15.
While Whittaker was grateful to Aliskerov for stepping up on short
notice, “Bobby Knuckes”
claimed to have never heard of the Dagestani standout before
their fight was announced. A seasoned veteran on the regional
scene, Aliskerov believes Whittaker was lying and had repeatedly
watched his tape even before their fight got booked. Aliskerov’s
lone professional loss came via a first-round knockout against
Chimaev under the Brave Combat Federation banner in 2019. Aliskerov
believes Whittaker has watched that fight multiple times while
preparing for the Chimaev booking.
“I think he was lying,” Aliskerov told Red
Corner MMA. “I’m sure he rewatched my fight with Khamzat a
million times because he was preparing for him.”
Aliskerov favored Chimaev to beat Whittaker before the fight got
canceled and hopes his former foe gets back in fighting shape
soon.
“Khamzat of course. We were all worried about Khamzat when we heard
the news,” Aliskerov said. “I hope he gets well soon and gets back
to business and makes us all happy. Khamzat was definitely the
favorite to win.”
Aliskerov trains at
KHK MMA Team under the tutelage of head coach Eldar
Eldarov and several others who have been trained by Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Also hailing
from Dagestan, Aliskerov naturally shares a bond with the
Nurmagomedov. Aliskerov revealed that he had a word with
Nurmagomedov after accepting the fight and the UFC Hall of Famer
lauded his choice.
“Yes, after I took the fight I called Khabib,” Aliskerov said. “He
said, ‘You can’t miss these chances. You have to fly here, sweat
for two to three days.There’s also adaptation, it’s a 10-hour
difference with Vegas here.’”
While Aliskerov also admitted to receiving some fight-related
advice from Nurmagomedov, he refused to divulge any further
information.
“We discussed it, but I won’t get into it,” Aliskerov said.
“[Khabib said] ‘Pay attention because he is a striker. Be attentive
and everything will work out.’”