BreakingDown UFC Saudi Arabia: Whittaker VS Aliskerov

 Written By: Danny Albers

UFC has their first card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, displaying one of the deepest Fight Night cards we’ve seen in a while. Similar to the UFC England cards, this felt like a special event. The main event was supposed to feature Khamzat Chimaev challenging Robert Whittaker, but instead young Russian Ikram Aliskerov had to step in due to Chimaev suffering from a “violent illness.” We’ll see if we get the mega-showdown between Chimaev and Whittaker, but for now it seems like Whittaker is heading to Perth as a reserve for the Middleweight Title Fight. Let’s break down the action. 

The Road to UFC 2: Bantamweight Title Fight 

Xiao Long (26-8) VS ChangHo Lee (10-1) 

Result: ChangHo Lee wins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-29) 

ChangHo Lee’s refined striking was on display in the Road to the UFC 2 finale fight with Chinese veteran Xiao Long. Lee outstruck Long 173-135 and was the superior fighter on the feet. Long did have some grappling fight, and won the time of possession to steal a round. But Lee was the clear fighter in the end. Now that Lee is here, the exciting Korean bantamweight with power in his hands will be interesting to watch as he attempts to navigate the tough UFC bantamweight division. 

Light Heavyweight Bout 

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (9-0) VS Brendson Ribeiro (15-7) 

Result: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov wins by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) 

I’m not sure who saw this fight in favor of Ribeiro, but Magomed looked pretty sharp in this fight. Ribeiro only had 29 strikes and 3 takedowns. Magomed Gadzhiyasulov was 5/5 on takedowns, had 93 strikes (26 significant) and 9:59 of control time. I had this 30-27 for Magomed. He’s now 2-0 in the UFC after winning on the Contender Series in October. 

Bantamweight Bout 

Kyung Ho Kang (19-11) VS Muin Gafurov (19-6) 

Result: Muin Gafurov wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 

I’m still waiting to see some of that knockout power Muin showed when he won gold in LFA. He’s a dangerous striker with 10 knockouts in his career. Losing his first 2 fights in the UFC, as has been common with LFA alumni when making the promotion to the big leagues, he’s had trouble adjusting to the level of competition.  

Welterweight Bout 

Rinat Fakhretdinov (21-1-1) VS Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1) 

Result: Rinat Fakhretdinov wins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) 

A grueling fight to watch, especially if you’re Nicolas Dalby fans (or if you root against Russian fighters). Fakhretdinov walked into some clean striking by Dalby, but took his licks to score 6 minutes of control time and 5 takedowns. I was a bit impressed how Dalby handled himself on the ground, but Rinat was relentless with the pressure. At 39 years old, Dalby looked fantastic and was on a 4-fight winning streak. This was a tough loss for the veteran from Denmark.

Featherweight Bout

Muhammad Naimov (11-3) VS Felipe Lima (13-1) 

Result: Felipe Lima wins by 3rd round submission (rear naked choke) 

Both fighters were pretty evenly matched in this fight, a lot of the damage and stats Lima landed were in the build up to the submission of Naimov. It almost looked like Naimov didn’t think he was in much trouble as he looked shocked with how deep the choke was. He was 3-0 in the UFC with wins against some tough names like Jamie Mullarkey and Nate Wood. This was Lima’s UFC debut after winning gold at an independent promotion. The future is bright for the young Brazilian prospect.        

Lightweight Bout 

Nasrat Haqparast (17-5) VS Jared Gordon (20-7) 

Result: Nasrat Haqparast wins by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) 

Jared Gordon is a tough opponent for anybody at lightweight. He very well could have won this fight even though Haqparast had more significant strikes (146-141 Haqparast). I think the big deciding factor was Gordon’s persistence to get takedowns. He held his own on his feet, but looked like he felt the advantage on the ground. He was 0-13 on takedown attempts. I think that was the difference for Nasrat to fire off some counters and stay in the fight. On a couple occasions Gordon left himself exposed for some nasty knee strikes. This is Nasrat Haqparast’s 4th win in a row now after losing to Bobby Green. He’s knocking on the door of the top 15. 

Projected Next Opponent for Nasrat: Rafael Dos Anjos

Light Heavyweight Bout 

(7) Johnny Walker (21-9) VS (9) Volkan Oezdemir (20-7)

Result: Volkan Oezdemir wins by 1st round KO (Punch) 

Volkan Oezdemir doesn’t get half the respect that he deserves. He’s stood in there with the top fighters of this division, most of them failing to finish him, and has power that can put anybody out. Johnny Walker got way too cute with Oezdemir and dropped. The fight was over, but not yet called, and Oezdemir executed Walker with a nasty uppercut. Walker has all the skills in the world, but he’s been knocked out 6 times in his career. 

Projected Next Opponent for Volkan Oezdemir: Khalil Rountree Jr.     

Middleweight Bout 

Shara Magomedov (13-0) VS Antonio Trocoli (12-4) 

Result: Shara Magomedov wins by 3rd round KO/TKO (Punches) 

I really felt bad for Antonio Trocoli in this fight. It was clear he didn’t belong there with Shara, who is one of, if not, the top UFC prospect right now. Shara outstruck the Brazilian Trocoli 108-39, and stuffed all 7 of his takedown attempts. That is now Shara’s 2nd win in the UFC after he beat Bruno Silva back in October. He’s a problem, and similar to what they did with Ikram Aliskerov, could get a top 15 opponent next.

Projected Next Opponent for Shara Magomedov: Michel Pereira  

Middleweight Bout 

Kelvin Gastelum (19-9) VS Daniel Rodriguez (17-5) 

Result: Kelvin Gastelum wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) 

Kelvin Gastelum missed weight against an opponent who fought most of his career at welterweight. This felt a bit deliberate. Especially when Kelvin used his takedowns and grappling to gain the advantage against the better striker in Daniel Rodriguez. Even with a 4/4 takedown rating, he still lost in the striking department. His post-fight was a plea to Dana not to fire him. It just wasn’t a good look against a fighter who was fighting up a weight class to begin with. Gastelum has given everything to the UFC, and at only 32 you have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, he wouldn’t be the first fighter to purposely miss weight to win a fight.   

Heavyweight Bout

(3) Sergei Pavlovich (18-3) VS (5) Alexander Volkov (38-10)

Result: Alexander Volkov wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) 

This was a slow fight, even for heavyweights. Pavlovich has the power to end the fight with one punch. But the insane reach of Alexander Volkov allowed the big tall Russian to stand at a safe distance and double the amount of strikes 83-46 on Pavlovich. Alexander Volkov is now on an impressive 4 fight win streak since he was submitted in England against Tom Aspinall. He had back-to-back 1st round KO wins against Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexandr Romanov, followed by an impressive submission victory over Tai Tuivasa. The 35 year old veteran Volkov proved that he has a lot left in the tank, and can be a threat to the heavyweight crown. Sergei Pavlovich needed this win after being knocked out by Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight belt. He’s now lost two fights in a row, but should still be looked at as a top 5 heavyweight.

Projected Next Opponent for Alexander Volkov: Ciryl Gane       

Middleweight Bout

(3) Robert Whittaker (27-7) VS Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) 

Result: Robert Whittaker wins by 1st round KO (Punch) 

If you shoot at the king, you best not miss. Whittaker showed why he’s a 2-time UFC Middleweight Champion. Staggering Ikram 1:49 into the first, and then finishing off the Russian Sambo specialist in the first. Whittaker will stay put and be a backup for the Perth title fight between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. Since he was fresh, he could scrap with Sean Strickland before to see who could earn the backup challenger spot. Both men deserve a rematch for the belt. 

Projected Next Opponent for Robert Whittaker: Sean Strickland