UFC Saudi Announces Further Fights – ‘Cannot Wait For This Card’
The UFC has announced further fights for their first-ever Saudi card, headlined between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, for June 22.
Shara Magomedov makes his second UFC appearance, facing a 48-fight veteran Joilton Lutterbach. The Russian was on course to fight Ihor Potieria initially. However, Potieria withdrew after coming off a first-round KO loss to Michel Pereira at UFC 301. Said Nurmagomedov has pulled out from the card, although no reasons have been given. Now, Montel Jackson takes on the undefeated Farid Basharat.
The main event is the key fight. Khamzat is undefeated and won a majority decision in his last bout against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. That took his record to 13-0. Whittaker beat Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in his previous bout, bouncing back from his loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290. The winner takes a step closer to a world title shot.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov takes on Sergei Pavlovich. Volkov has won his last three bouts, beating Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov, and Tai Tuivasa. His last previous loss was against Tom Aspinall in 2022. Pavlovich has a loss to Aspinall, getting knocked out at UFC 295 in his last fight.
Current Card
Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Shara Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
Jared Gordon vs. Nasrat Haqparast
Abu Azaitar vs. Denis Tiuliulin
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov
Montel Jackson vs. Farid Basharat
Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Muhammad Naimov
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby
Xiao Long vs. Chang Ho Lee
Saudi Vision
Tickets for the event are now on sale. The event will hope to capture the imagination of fight fans just as Tyson Fury’s Undisputed Heavyweight Boxing fight with Oleksandr Usyk did. The historic event saw the first undisputed champion since 1999, when Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield. Usyk came out with a thrilling win, winning a split decision on the cards.
The UFC reportedly faced hurdles in securing this first Saudi card. There were reports that the Saudis pulled the first date of March 2. Ariel Helwani alleged that the Kingdom pulled the plug after not being happy with the quality of the card. This was after suggestions the Saudis paid a $20 million site fee.
“I’m being told, via sources, that the planned March 2nd UFC event in Saudi Arabia is being postponed and the target is June. I was told that the reason for the postponement is because the powers that be in Saudi Arabia want a more entertaining fight card. They want a deeper fight card with bigger names on it, weren’t too pleased with what was being offered,” Helwani said
Now that those hurdles have been resolved, Turki Alalshikh has indicated his desire to work with the UFC long term following their new deal.
“Riyadh Season announced hosting the first UFC Fight Night in cooperation with the leading international organization in the field of mixed martial arts (MMA). It has been postponed to Saturday, June 22,” Turki Alalshikh revealed
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