Robert Whittaker decisively defeated Ikram Aliskerov with a first-round knockout, demonstrating his prowess and readiness to take on any opponent in the middleweight division.
Robert Whittaker is still a very bad man.
After losing Khamzat Chimaev as an opponent just days out from the UFC Saudi Arabia main event, the former middleweight champion didn’t blink when he was offered a fight against highly touted prospect Ikram Aliskerov. Whittaker then proved there are levels to this game after he clipped Aliskerov with a stiff left during an early exchange that led to the finish just seconds later.
With Aliskerov on skates, Whittaker surged forward with a blistering combination, including a vicious uppercut that dropped his opponent to the canvas. Whittaker followed up with a few more punches for good measure before referee Marc Goddard swooped in to save Aliskerov from further harm.
The official stoppage came at just 1:49 in the opening round.
“I told you, I told everybody, I’m the boogeyman,” Whittaker shouted after his latest win. “I’m the most dangerous matchup for anyone in the division. Because I’m the best in the world. I’ll take any fight, any time. I’ll fight anyone.”
There was obvious danger for Whittaker in the fight because it was a high risk, low reward situation going up against a largely unproven yet potentially lethal opponent like Aliskerov. That didn’t deter Whittaker as he came out guns blazing from the first exchange and he showed no fear stepping into the pocket to throw down with Aliskerov.
As soon as he started landing strikes, Whittaker became a headhunter and that’s when he launched the left hand that cracked Aliskerov and put him on wobbly legs.
Whittaker smelled blood in the water and he overwhelmed Aliskerov with strikes, which included that jaw-dropping knockout shot that led to the finish. In the end, Whittaker knew that his cage savvy would serve as a great foundation to beat Aliskerov and hand him only the second loss of his career.
“It was experience,” Whittaker said. “I’ve been in this position 100 times. I told you I was going to be the hunter and that’s exactly what I did.”
With the win, Whittaker puts himself back in position to potentially compete in a No. 1 contender’s bout against somebody like Sean Strickland or possibly even serve as a backup for the middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Australia on Aug. 17.
From the sound of things, Whittaker is more than happy to accept that invitation if offered.
“I’m healthy, I’m hearty,” Whittaker said. “Let’s go.”