Robert Whittaker has said he aims to take Khamzat Chimaev’s head off during their five-round bout at UFC 308.
No.3 ranked middleweight Whittaker faces Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 308 on October 26 at the Etihad Arena, United Arab Emirates.
Whittaker knocked out Aliskerov of Russia in his last UFC boutGetty
‘The Reaper’ was victorious in his last octagon appearance, knocking out Russia’s Ikram Aliskerov in less than two minutes of their headline bout at UFC Saudi Arabia in June 2024.
He was originally scheduled to fight Chimaev on June 22, but UFC president Dana White confirmed the latter was too ‘violently ill’ to make the card.
Chimaev, meanwhile, won’t have fought in the UFC for more than a year when he returns at UFC 308.
He is undefeated in White’s promotion and gained a convincing majority-decision over former middleweight champion Kamaru Usman in his last bout.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Whittaker had a chilling prediction for ‘Borz’ (Nickname that translates to ‘wolf’ in Chimaev’s native Chechen).
“In anyway possible,” he said when asked how he would stop him. “I’ve left no stone unturned and I’ve trained my heart out for this.
“I’m going to get in there, I’ve got 25 minutes with him. I’m looking to try and take his head off the entire 25 minutes, but I’ve addressed every skill set for this fight.”
Chimaev, who fights out of the UAE, is known for his sublime wrestling skills and usually ragdolls his opponents to a submission.
The No.12 ranked middleweight turned professional in 2018 and has eight first round finishes in his MMA career.
Whittaker, on the other hand, is more of a traditional striker, and was asked if he plans on dragging Chimaev into uncomfortable waters, while confirming how he will deal with the crowd in UAE.
Chimaev has won all 13 of his professional boutsgetty
He said: “As soon as he steps inside that octagon with me, he’s in deep waters. He’s already in the waters that I want him to be in.
“It’s different because I’ve never been outright disliked, but you know what, it didn’t affect me too much three months ago in Saudi Arabia and I don’t expect it to affect me too much in this fight.
“One thing is I’ve never tried to play to the crowd and that’s what they see – they see real – I’m in there to do a job. I’m in there to try and put him away, to bury Chimaev. So I’ll work on winning the crowd over after that.”
Dricus du Plessis is the current champion of the middleweight division having dethroned Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January.
UFC President Dana White confirmed last week that both men will meet again in a rematch for the belt.
Whittaker finished by saying he is ‘without a doubt’ in with a title shot against the winner of that bout if he is victorious over Chimaev on October 26.
The main event of UFC 308 sees Ilia Topuria defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway.
Whittaker was stopped quickly by Du Plessis when the pair met at UFC 290 in June 2023Getty
The Spaniard has promised to be the first man to knockout Holloway when the pair clash for their main event fight.
