UFC Saudi Arabia cards announced: Whittaker vs Chimaev to headline event

The main event, scheduled to be held on June 22, will see the unbeaten and surging Kzhamzat Chimaev of Russia going up against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Robert Whittaker in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited opportunity to host the Ultimate Fighting Championship has finally become a reality as former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on Khamzat Chimaev on June 22, the promotion’s CEO Dana White announced on Thursday.

Whittaker is coming off a bounce-back win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298, while Chimaev’s last outing saw him outduel former welterweight king Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. The fight figures to play a major role in the middleweight title picture with newly minted Dricus Du Plessis on top of the heap. 

In the co-main event, White announced a matchup between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov. Pavlovich’s last outing saw him get his first crack at gold although he ultimately lost the interim title fight to Tom Aspinall at UFC 295. Volkov, on the other hand, is riding a 3-fight winning streak (all finishes) as he hopes to finally climb into title contention with an emphatic win this summer. 

Elsewhere on the card, welterweights Kelvin Gastelum and Daniel Rodriguez clash with both men hoping to get back into the winning column.