Robert Whittaker says new opponent could be ‘more dangerous’ than Khamzat

Not so fast… according to the 33-year-old Whittaker himself!

“I’m grateful to Aliskerov for stepping up to the plate to fight, and a lot of fans probably don’t know how dangerous this man is. And in many ways this man is more dangerous than Chimaev. especially in terms of mentality, because he has nothing to lose and only everything to gain,” Robert said TMZ Sports earlier this week.

He continued… “As far as his skills go, he’s a dangerous guy. And I understand the threat he poses. And I’m going to face that head on. I’m going to fight him next Saturday.”

While Khamzat may be undefeated (13-0), Ikram’s record isn’t too bad.

In fact, his only career defeat came at the hands of Chimaev in 2019 – before either of them were signed to the UFC (they fought in a promotion called Brave CF 23). KC won by knockout.

Both Robert and Ikram achieve victories. Whittaker defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 298 … and Aliskerov a victory against Warlley Alves at UFC 294.

We also asked RW about the decision to enter the fight. After all, he’s in third place, while IA is unranked… perhaps a big risk for Whittaker if he were to lose.

“Mate, it’s my job. This is what I get paid for. This is what I do. This is how I take care of my family, this is yeah, this is what the job entails.”

As for now having to train for a new opponent with a different style… Whittaker isn’t worried.

“I just rely on my experience. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve had a lot of fights under my belt. And that makes these transitions as easy as they can be. You know, I can fall back on ten years of training and fighting to get there to help you through.”