“They want to see him in that picture, but I love disrupting their plans. I love derailing their stories, and that’s why I took the fight,” said Robert Whittaker as he confessed that he was the one who asked the UFC to arrange a fight against Khamzat Chimaev. Well, Whittaker was supposed to meet the Emriti at UFC Saudi Arabia but an illness pulled Chimaev out of the battle and Ikram Aliskerov had to set in to fill the gap. Nevertheless, ‘Reaper’ vs. ‘Borz’ has once again been scheduled for UFC 308, and a top coach believes that Chimaev shouldn’t underestimate Robert Whittaker as a fighter.

Khamzat Chimaev has vowed to take revenge against Robert Whittaker for Ikram Aliskerov’s loss but will it be that easy for him to ragdoll a former middleweight champ? The reality might be a bit different than what the undefeated warrior is thinking.

Top coach warns Khamzat Chimaev of repercussions against Robert Whittaker

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker is set to headline UFC 308 alongside Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria. Dana White has finally given a chance to Chimaev to get close to the 185 lbs title, why? Well, the winner of their clash would most likely face the victor of Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis fight. This is a huge chance for Chimaev’s redemption as his status as the undisputed contender has been hampered recently due to him pulling out of most of his fights.

Both the fighters are looking to clinch the victory as a win would change the course of their career. Despite, Whittaker’s experience, he is the underdog in their fight as the opening betting saw ‘Reaper’ open as a +155 betting underdog to Chimaev, who came in as the -195 betting favorite. However, according to Eric Nicksick, it would be bad for Chimaev to underestimate Whittaker, “Robert Whittaker should go down as one of the best middleweights to ever do it in this sport. He’s unbelievable,” said Nicksick.

He further added, “So this is the matchup we need to see from both fighters to understand how good Khamzat actually is. Would you be surprised if Khamzat blew through Robert Whittaker? No, you wouldn’t. Would you be surprised if Whittaker blew through Khamzat? No, no, you wouldn’t. So this is just one of those fights where I think you want to see how good Khamzat really is. That’s the one that can be like, “Oh, dude, this guy’s for real.” This is the fight.”

Robert Whittaker has won 3 of his last 5 fights, defeating opponents who were all top contenders as well: Ikram Aliskerov, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori. In comparison to Whittaker, Chimaev’s resume lacks depth. Well, Chimaev is smart enough not to let confidence get over his head. Regardless, let’s take a look at what are Whittaker’s thoughts about the UFC 305 headlining event.

Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis will go to distance

After a year of waiting, Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis are finally going to fight against each other at UFC 305. Adesanya is coming back into the Octagon after a year-long break and is looking to clinch the title. on the other hand, Du Plessis is looking at a successful title defense. To give you an interesting stat, Israel Adesanya has not lost any contest when he fights as a contender and Du Plessis has not lost a single match in six years. Their bout would be the clash of the equals and Robert Whittaker believes that it would go to distance.

“They are 50-50 odds, that is how much I think either one can sway. I think there is a 50 percent chance Izzy kind of keeps him at his end of the jab, utilizes that spacing, doesn’t have his back get put against the fence, defend some takedowns, and ultimately wins by decision. I also think there is a 50 percent chance, Dricus does what he did to Strickland. Pushes into that space, takes him down, wears him out, turns it into a dogfight. Doesn’t get a finish, but drags it out that he still is the remaining champ. 50-50, my money is on those two results, kinds of methods of winning,” said Whittaker on the MMArcade podcast.

What’s your take on Robert Whittaker’s statement? State your thoughts in the comments below.