Chimaev OUT, Whittaker vs. Imavov to headline UFC Saudi Arabia

There’s been speculation that Khamzat Chimaev is out of his fight next weekend against Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia. Whittaker took to Instagram to post a reel with a quote saying “Anyone Anywhere Anytime”.

Robert Whittaker via. Instagram

“Anyone Anywhere Anytime” 🤔#UFCSaudiArabia #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/DRfEaLsLqm

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 13, 2024

No reports have come out as to why Chimaev was withdrawn from his fight against Whittaker but it’s becoming more and more realistic that we may not see him fight next weekend. We have yet to see Chimaev fight this year and it remains to be seen when we will see him fight this year.

Now, the question lies in who’s stepping in on less than two week’s notice to face off against the former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Rumor has it that stepping in on short notice will be Nassourdine Imavov who was victorious in his main event fight last weekend when he defeated former title contender Jared Cannonier, Bendaman2001 has reported this on X formerly known as Twitter.

Per sources Khamzat Chimaev is out of his fight Next week against Robert Whittaker the front runner to replace Chimaev is Nassourdine imavov pic.twitter.com/RSZ0KLXZd4

— Benny P 🇦🇺 (@Bendaman2001) June 13, 2024

This will be a surprising matchup as this will be a significant step up for Imavov while this will be a significant step down in competition for Whittaker. Also, this points to no one willing to step up and take on such a competitor like Whittaker on very short notice in Saudi Arabia. Imavov seems be the gamer and is willing to put his winning streak on the line to take on his stiffest competition to date in just a little over a week.

We will see if this fight comes to fruition and how it pans out but either way UFC Saudia Arabia will be a stacked fight card.