Chimaev and Whittaker headline thrilling inaugural UFC event in Saudi Arabia
Chimaev and Whittaker headline thrilling inaugural UFC event in Saudi Arabia
29 Mar 2024
News, Press Releases
His Excellency Turki bin Abdulmohsen AlalShikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced the highly anticipated UFC FIGHT NIGHT main event bout between the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev and former champion Robert Whittaker. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena, as part of the Riyadh Calendar events, tickets will be available soon on the WeBook platform.
The news was confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White, who also announced the winner of the five-round Saudi Arabia marquee bout will become the number one contender and earn the right to compete for the UFC middleweight belt currently held by Dricus du Plessis.
Chimaev will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since his victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in October as he seeks to preserve his 13-0 record, while Whittaker’s last fight came in February via a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa.
It is set to be an epic and historic affair with an exciting card to match the occasion, which forms part of this year’s Riyadh Calendar, with the co-main event set to feature a heavyweight matchup between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
In addition, fans can look forward to seeing welterweights Kelvin Gastelum and Daniel Rodriguez go face to face and also witness No.7 ranked light heavyweight Johnny Walker return to take on No.9 ranked Volkan Oezdemir, while Shara Bullet faces Ihor Potieria at light heavyweight.
HE TURKI ALALSHIKH ANNOUNCES RIYADH SEASON TO HOST FIRST OVERSEAS EVENT IN LOS ANGELES AS CRAWFORD TAKES ON MADRIMOV FOR WORLD SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT TITLES