Whittaker-Chimaev to headline 1st UFC card in Saudi Arabia
A middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev will headline the first-ever UFC event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 22, UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday morning.
The winner of the Fight Night main event will become the No. 1 contender for the middleweight championship, held by Dricus Du Plessis.
Whittaker, a former 185-pound champion, is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February. Meanwhile, Chimaev continued his undefeated streak by beating former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman last October in his return to the middleweight division.
Heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov will go head to head the UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event.
It was reported earlier this week that Volkov was set to face Jailton Almeida at UFC 302 on June 1. However, the promotion decided to make a switch and will find a new opponent for Almeida, according to Eurosport's Marcel Dorff.
Pavlovich is looking to bounce back from a first-round knockout loss to Tom Aspinall in an interim title bout at UFC 295 last November. Pavlovich, ranked No. 3 in the division, had won six straight before that defeat, including knockouts of Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa, and Derrick Lewis.
Volkov, ranked No. 6, is coming off a submission of Tuivasa at UFC 293 last September and has won three in a row.
Other fights announced for UFC Saudi Arabia include Kelvin Gastelum versus Daniel Rodriguez, Johnny Walker versus Volkan Oezdemir, and Shara Magomedov versus Ihor Potieria.
White also announced that the card will air on ABC.