Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) was unfazed by a late change of opponent and once again proved himself tonight as one of the top 185-pound contenders in mixed martial arts history, knocking out rising star Ikram Aliskerov (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Whittaker, originally scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev, became just the second man to defeat Aliskerov after Chimaev, sending a message to the rest of the division. After landing a jab in the first minute of the bout, Whittaker landed a right hook that left Aliskerov severely staggered. Aliskerov stumbled backwards against the cage, and Whittaker closed in with an uppercut that brought Aliskerov to his knees. Whittaker then landed three left punches to the side of the face of a stunned and defenseless Aliskerov, causing referee Marc Goddard to stop the bout at 1 minute, 49 seconds into the first round. Whittaker has won two straight bouts this year and is back in title contention after a loss to current champion Dricus du Plessis in July.
Alexander Volkov (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) moved one step closer to a title shot with a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over former training partner Sergey Pavlovich (18-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the heavyweight co-main event. Pavlovich had some success with his boxing throughout the bout, but his refusal to mix up his offense allowed Volkov to dismantle and wear him down throughout the three-round bout. Volkov consistently circled left in the first round while landing leg kicks and quick one-twos, and the same pattern continued in the second. He also landed a few kicks to the body, allowing Pavlovich to land follow-up punches, and the damage began to show in Pavlovich’s face. A flurry of Volkov jabs in the final round left Pavlovich with cuts on the bridge of his nose and under both eyes. The bout was left to the scorecards before a frustrated Pavlovic shoved his former friend after the bell rang. The judges twice scored it 29-28 and 30-27 for Volkov, who has won four straight bouts since losing to Tom Aspinall in March 2022.
Originally scheduled as a welterweight bout, The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum (19-9, 1 NC; 13-9, 1 NC) won his middleweight showdown against Daniel Rodriguez (17-5, 7-4 UFC) in what was then a rescheduled bout after Gastelum failed to make the welterweight limit. Gastelum had Rodriguez on the back foot in the first round, landing hooks and overhand lefts as Rodriguez tried to find his timing. Rodriguez landed a hard right hook late in the round, but was at his best in the middle rounds when Gastelum’s offensive power dwindled. Each time Gastelum missed a looping punch, Rodriguez retaliated with three or four punches to the face. However, Gastelum adjusted his strategy in the final round. Gastelum rained down punches on Rodriguez in the first minute of the bout, then got a takedown. Rodriguez was unable to attack from behind, and when he briefly got to his feet, Gastelum quickly got a takedown, scoring 29-28 and 30-27 both rounds in favor of Gastelum, earning a unanimous decision victory in a must-win situation.
Despite a slow start, promising middleweight prospect Shalabdin Magomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) rushed into the bout and maintained his perfect record with a third-round knockout victory over Antonio Trocoli (12-4 MMA, 1 no-kick, 0-1 UFC), who had lost steam in the first round. Trocoli’s biggest success came in the first minute, when he landed two hard right punches and forced Magomedov against the cage in a lengthy clinch. Magomedov turned the tide in the second round, landing a series of kicks aimed at Trocoli’s legs, further limiting Trocoli’s movement in addition to his obvious fatigue. Trocoli tried in vain to take Magomedov down, but Magomedov blatantly grabbed the cage and received no punishment beyond a “stern warning.” Trocoli was pinned down when Magomedov began unleashing flashy spinning kicks in the final round. Magomedov hunted Trocoli down with a flurry of knees and punches, then lunged in and finished Trocoli with a left hook to the temple at 2:27 of the third round, giving Magomedov 11 wins by knockout or TKO.
Opening the main card, Volkan Oezdemir (20-7, 8-6 UFC) scored an emphatic first-round knockout victory over Johnny Walker (21-9, 1 NC, 7-6, 1 NC UFC) in the light heavyweight division. Living up to his nickname, Oezdemir defeated the popular “No Time” Walker. Walker was hurt by an early combination to the body and was taken down by a left hook. Walker got to his feet, but a powerful right uppercut sent him back to the canvas, and Oezdemir finished Walker off with another right punch on the ground at 2 minutes, 28 seconds into the first round. This was Oezdemir’s second consecutive first-round finish.
In the featured lightweight prelims, Nasrat Haqparast (17-5, 9-4 UFC) narrowly defeated Jared Gordon (20-7, 1 NC, 8-6, 1 NC UFC) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) after three action-packed rounds. Felipe Lima (13-1, 1-0 UFC) made a quick move up to featherweight and won his UFC debut, submitting Muhammajon Naimov (11-3, 3-1 UFC) via rear-naked choke at 1:15 of the third round.Rinat Fakretdinov (22-1-1, 4-0-1 UFC) extended his unbeaten streak to 22 bouts with a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) victory over Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1, 2 NC, 7-4-1, 1 NC UFC) in the welterweight division. Bantamweight Muin Gafurov (19-6, 1-2 UFC) earned his first UFC victory by defeating Kyung-Ho Kang (19-11, 1 NC, 8-5, 1 NC UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). In the light heavyweight division, Magomed Gaziaslov (9-0, 1-0 UFC) overcame a shaky first round to win by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) over Brendon Ribeiro (15-7, 1 NC, 0-2 UFC), while Chan-Ho Lee (10-1) struggled to beat Long Xiao (26-8) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in the Road to UFC Season 2 bantamweight final, which was postponed from February.
