Robert Whittaker built upon his new found form in the middleweight division as he secured a first-round knockout win over Ikram Aliskerov in the UFC Fight Night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Sunday.
“The Reaper” halted Aliskerov’s seven-fight winning streak, as he won the bout by knockout via strikes.
A crisp one-two started the finishing sequence, with Whittaker landing a sharp right that put Aliskerov on rubber legs. The Australian immediately chased after him, looking for a head kick before putting Aliskerov down with a clean uppercut, pounding out the finish along the fence.
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Whittaker wanted to make a statement in the UFC’s maiden voyage to Kingdom Arena and he certainly did that, registering his first stoppage win since defeating Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to punch his ticket to a championship opportunity seven years ago.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov got the better of his compatriot Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight bout.
“Drago” did well to fight long throughout the contest, offering an assortment of kicks and quick combinations to touch up Pavlovich and keep the knockout artist off him for long periods.
After posting three-straight stoppage victories heading into this one, Volkov added to his run of success with a massive win on the cards. Already stationed in the Top five in the heavyweight division, Volkov should climb a couple notches when the rankings update next week and earn another marquee assignment in the back half of the year.
Full results
Main Event: Robert Whittaker defeats Ikram Aliskerov by KO at 1:49 of Round 1
Co-Main Event: Alexander Volkov defeats Sergei Pavlovich by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Kelvin Gastelum defeats Daniel Rodriguez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Shara Magomedov defeats Antonio Trocoli by KO (strikes) at 2:27 of Round 3
Volkan Oezdemir defeats Johnny Walker by KO at 2:28 of Round 1
Nasrat Haqparast (29-28, 29-28) defeats Jared Gordon by split decision (29-28)
Felipe Lima defeats Muhammad Naimov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:15 of Round 3
Rinat Fakhretdinov (29-28, 29-28) defeats Nicolas Dalby by split decision (29-28)
Muin Gafurov defeats Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magomed Gadzhiyasuov defeats Brendson Ribeiro by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
ChangHo Lee (29-28, 29-28) defeats Xiao Long by split decision (29-28)
