Robert Whittaker wants to throw a spanner in the works of the UFC’s middleweight division.
Whittaker, the UFC’s former 185-pound champion, is scheduled to fight the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at October’s UFC 308 card in Abu Dhabi, in a bout that will likely determine the next challenger to the winner of the upcoming Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya title fight later this month.
The Whittaker-Chimaev clash will come four months or so removed from when they were initially supposed to fight. However, Chimaev withdrew from the bout in the lead-in citing illness, and was replaced by Ikram Aliskerov — whom Whittaker dispatched via knockout less than two minutes into the first round.
But with that fight now set to happen in a little over two months, Whittaker says that he is anticipating ending Chimaev’s unbeaten run and impacting the title plans at 185-pounds.
“I think the UFC story-wise wants to see Chimaev get a shot at the champion. They want to see Chimaev up at the top of the ladder,” Whittaker said to the MMA Arcade podcast, as noted by Yardbarker .
“But I love disrupting their plans, I love derailing their stories. That’s why I took the fight, you know, I asked for the fight.”
The former champ added: “I look forward to hard fights. I look forward to these fights. And I know that if I beat Chimaev, there is nothing in my way to getting my belt back.”
Whittaker vs. Chimaev is expected to serve as one of the featured bouts at the UFC 308 card in Abu Dhabi on October 26. Ilia Topuria will defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway in the main event, while Ciyrl Gane also takes on Russian fighter Alexander Volkov.
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