Ikram Aliskerov is currently unranked at 185 pounds.
Nevertheless, the once-beaten Russian phenom has the sportsbooks spooked, which may explain why Aliskerov (15-1) opened as a mere +110 underdog against former champion Robert Whittaker (25-7), who started as the -130 betting favorite.
Aliskerov replaced the ailing Khamzat Chimaev.
Money has since trickled in for āThe Reaperā and the current betting line has Whittaker at -136 against +116 for Aliskerov, according to BetOnline.ag. Their five-round headliner takes place atop the UFC Saudi Arabia fight card on ABC this Sat. (June 22) in Riyadh.
More odds and betting lines for āWhittaker vs. Aliskerovā below:
ESPN. āBut he understood what I wanted, he understands that I am in the fight game and Iām here to fight, so he said āleave it with me, Iāll talk with the UFC.ā My team went and spoke with the UFC and we organized it and now Iām fighting on Saturday still, so itās all good.ā
āIt all happened pretty quickly, and Iām blessed in the fact that my team and management, the UFC themselves, and even Ikram that it all came together and I was still able to fight,ā Whittaker continued. āA week out not many people are in a position to take that fight, so I would have done all that work for nothing and it would have been quite upsetting because this is my career, this is how I put bread on the table. So, Iām just very blessed and thankful that everything got across the line.ā
To see who else is fighting at UFC Saudi Arabia click here.