The UFC’s first trip to Saudi Arabia will bring a banger of a main event as former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will face Khamzat Chimaev on June 22.
UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on social media.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!
UFC is heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time with a BAD ASS card, headlined by Whittaker vs Chimaev LIVE and FREE on ABC on June 22nd pic.twitter.com/2OZW2AEmLH
— danawhite (@danawhite) March 28, 2024
Robert Whittaker (25-7) will make his return to the octagon following a successful trip to Anaheim, CA where he took a decision victory over Paulo Costa. He is 3-2 in his last five outings in the octagon, and he’ll step into a very high-profile bout in Saudi Arabia.
Chimaev (13-0) took a victory over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 last October. Following a big weight miss at UFC 279 Chimaev’s future looks to be in the middleweight division for the time being.
Other bouts announced for UFC Saudi Arabia include the co-main event setting up an all-Russian bout between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
Pavlovich comes off a TKO loss to now interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall at UFC 295 last November. Prior to that he had a run of 4 consecutive victories in the octagon.
Volkov (37-10) had just days ago been announced for a bout with Jailton Almeida at UFC 302, but now pivots to Saudi Arabia. He’s on a 3-fight win streak with victories over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov and Tai Tuivasa.
Some other fights announced for the card include:
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Shara Bullet vs. Ihor Potieria
