Ikram Aliskerov continues to look his best following his loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6.
Aliskerov replaced Khamzat Chimaev at short notice to face Whittaker in the main event on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in what many expected to be a close fight, Whittaker knocked Aliskerov out in just two minutes.
Aliskeroff said of the loss that he was well aware of what he was getting into when he accepted the bout. He is also a fan of Whittaker and felt honored to have faced “Bobby Knuckles.”
“I failed, but that’s okay,” Aliskerov told Ushatayka (translated by Red Corner MMA). “It’s just a sport, there are no excuses. I was very aware of the risks I was taking. To be honest, Rob has always been one of my favorite fighters. I’ve followed his career for a long time. I don’t know how to describe it, but he’s one of my favorite fighters, so it was an honor for me to fight him. Now, I have experience, so I’m going to be more focused in my next fight.”
Aliskerov said he didn’t want to make excuses, but that he had some “little issues” leading up to the fight. He said it was tough adjusting to Saudi Arabia’s time zone, 10 hours ahead of where he normally trains in Las Vegas. Aliskerov further claimed he hadn’t sparred in weeks prior, essentially having to cut weight twice. Aliskerov was originally scheduled to fight Antonio Troccoli at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15, but was on the brink of making weight when he accepted Whittaker’s last-minute booking.
“I came here mentally prepared, but it’s still hard to get used to the environment,” he said. “Not only that, I cut weight once and hadn’t sparred before that, and then I cut weight again, so I had no sparring again for two or three weeks. So there were a lot of little issues, but again, I knew what I was doing and that’s the reality. I wanted a longer fight, I wanted to have a good fight and win, but this is sport, anything can happen.”
