UFC Saudi Arabia: Whittaker vs. Chimaev: Fight Card, Betting Odds, Start Time
All the fights for the UFC Saudi Arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev card on Saturday 22nd June 2024. With betting odds, start time, date, fight card, and information on how to watch.
- Event: UFC Saudi Arabia: “Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev”
- Date: Sat, June 22, 2024
- Location: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Broadcast: ESPN+ PPV, ESPN, ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET Prelims and 3 p.m. ET Main Card)
- Broadcast In UK: (In the UK TNT Sports, Prelims 5 p.m. GMT, Main Card 8 p.m. GMT)
Contents
UFC Saudi arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev Full Fight Card
Main Card
- Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev: Middleweight Main Event
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov: Heavyweight
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez: Welterweight
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan: Featherweight
- Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir: Light Heavyweight
- Shara Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
Prelims
- Jared Gordon vs. Nasrat Haqparast: Lightweight
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby: Welterweight
- Montel Jackson vs. Farid Basharat: Bantamweight
- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov: Bantamweigh
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro: Light Heavyweight
- Abu Azaitar vs. Denis Tiuliulin: Middleweight
- Xiao Long vs. Chang Ho Lee: Bantamweight
*Fight card, bout order, and number of fights are subject to change
Tale of the Tape
| Name: | Robert Whittaker | Khamzat Chimaev |
| Country: | New Zealand | Chechnya, Russia |
| Age: | 33 | 29 |
| Height: | 6′ 0″ 182.88 cm | 6′ 2″/187.96 cm |
| Weight: | 185 lbs | 185 lbs |
| Reach: | 73 Inches | 75 Inches |
Start date and time
UFC Saudi Arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev takes place on June 22nd, at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card will start at 3 p.m. ET. The event starts with the preliminary card that will begin at 12 p.m. ET. In the UK, the main event starts at 5 p.m. GMT with the Prelims starting at 8 p.m. GMT.
Betting Odds
MMA’s premier promotion makes its debut in Saudi Arabia this Saturday.
The Middle Eastern country has become the home of boxing over the past year and now they are bringing a big UFC card to the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Lucky fans inside the venue will get to watch a stacked card of fights topped by a middleweight clash that will almost certainly lead to a title shot for the winner.
In the main event, former 185lb king Robert Whittaker is expected to provide undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev with the toughest test of his 13-fight career.
Before that, heavyweight knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich will look to bounce back from his shock defeat to Tom Aspinall when he takes on fellow Russian Alexander Volkov.
Join LowKickMMA as we preview and predict these two massive fights and provide you with UFC odds for every bout on the main card this weekend.
Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev
Whittaker is understandably a fairly big +217 underdog at UFC on ABC 6.
‘The Reaper’ has lost two of his last four fights and suffered a surprising first-round KO loss to Dricus du Plessis last year – now he’s booked against a scary fighter on the rise.
Chimaev is the -200 favourite after running through a bunch of world class fighters, including Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland.
However, we are backing him to lose for the very first time this weekend.
Whittaker has the size and wrestling skills to stop Chimaev from streaming through him in the early rounds, and the gas tank to make him pay down the stretch.
‘Borz’ has been close to perfect in the Octagon, but he has badly fatigued in three-round fights and could find it difficult during his first fight scheduled for five frames.
A comeback points victory or a late stoppage win, whatever happens we expect Whittaker to shock the world by becoming the first man to beat Chimaev
Sergei Pavlovich vs Alexander Volkov
Pavlovich was one of the scariest KO artists in UFC history before his interim title defeat to Aspinall last November – now he’s tasked with getting the hype train going again.
The bookmakers fancy him to do just that and have priced him accordingly at -200, but it won’t be easy against Volkov, who is 6ft 7in and has beaten many top contenders over the years.
Still, he’s a +217 underdog we won’t be getting behind on this card.
‘Drago’ is very much capable of getting it done on the feet or floor. However, Pavlovich just has that wild power, and we don’t think he’ll be able to stand up to it.
Expect Volkov to join Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, and 12 other fighters on Pavlovich’s impressive list of KO victims.
Johnny Walker vs Volkan Oezdemir
Our prediction for this fight would’ve been much different a few years ago.
Oezdemir burst onto the scene and picked up several scary KO wins, but since falling short in his lone light-heavyweight title fight, he’s looked a shell of his former self.
The Swiss MMA star has lost six of his last 10 fights and that’s why he’s a +125 underdog heading into a scrap with someone who has been called ‘chinny’ in the past.
Walker is an exciting KO merchant, but often leaves himself open for big counters and has been stopped by strikes in five of his eight defeats.
Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, has helped him become a more conservative fighter capable of mounting a title charge, and that’s why he’s the -150 favourite.
We think that’s right and will be backing him to beat Oezdemir, who never really lived up to his potential and is probably too far gone to turn things around.
Kelvin Gastelum vs Daniel Rodriguez
Gastelum is a -225 favourite despite not winning a welterweight fight since outpointing Johny Hendricks eight years ago.
The Ultimate Fighter champion decided he couldn’t make 170lbs anymore and moved up to middleweight where he was outsized and lost six times.
Sean Brady spoiled his return to welterweight, and Daniel Rodrigeuz is perfectly capable of ending his UFC career for good, even though he’s the +188 underdog.
On his day, Gastelum is a world champion fighter. Rodrigeuz simply isn’t.
At 32 years old, he’s still young enough to get back on track and now that he’s committed to fighting at the right weight, we can’t bet against him pulling it off against Rodriguez.
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Joilton Lutterbach
Magomedov is from Dagestan, partially blind in one eye and undefeated in MMA – he’s got everything he needs to quickly become a UFC superstar.
However, his promotional debut was dominant but not destructive as he outpointed Bruno Silva over three rounds at UFC 294 last October.
We expect him to continue his winning run as a -225 favourite against Lutterbach, who is only priced as a +188 underdog despite losing 10 times during his 48-fight career.
Muhammadjon Naimov vs Melsik Baghdasaryan
Naimov is one of the biggest favourites on the card at -450.
The Tajikistan fighter has been fighting and winning against a higher level of opposition than Baghdasaryan, who has his work cut out as a +350 underdog.
Don’t expect an upset in this one. Naimov will most likely dominate his opponent from the first bell and kick off the UFC on ABC 6 main card with a stoppage win.
Tickets
TBC
UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev Promo Trailer
TBA
PPV price and Live streams
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev: is live and free on ABC. In The UK, Whittaker vs. Chimaev is available on TNT Sports as well as on UFC Fight Pass.
What is Next after UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev😕
The next UFC event that follows UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev is UFC 303: McGregor vs. Chandler at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday 29 June 2024.
