The UFC Saudi main event is now sorted thanks to the Russian fighter, Ikram Aliskerov. The 31-year-old replaced an ill Khamzat Chimaev to compete against former champion Robert Whittaker in arguably the biggest fight in his career. But how does Aliskerov’s style match with ‘The Reaper’s? Well, that’s what we’re going to uncover today.

It’s not even been a couple of years since Ikram Aliskerov joined the UFC, and in only his fourth fight under Dana White‘s promotion’s banner (including one fight from the Contender Series), the 15-1 fighter has bagged his first main event.

Ikram Aliskerov’s primary fighting style: Sambo

Much like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ikram Aliskerov also hails from the mountainous region of Dagestan in Russia. Coincidentally, he also has his major fighting background in combat sambo, and guess what? Aliskerov received training in sambo from the people who worked at Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov‘s gym. He has his connections with ‘The Eagle’ and his family.

The 31-year-old has accomplished a lot as a Sambo fighter. While competing as a fighter under the FIAS banner, Ikram Aliskerov became a two-time World Champion in 2014 and 2015. But that isn’t all, because Aliskerov bagged a lot more honors in the years before his FIAS triumphs.

In 2012, the 15-1 MMA star registered a gold medal win at the World Combat Sambo Championship in the 82 kg weight category. That win showed that Aliskerov could move to MMA one day as he performed better than former Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov, a beast in Combat Sambo. Aliskerov won another world championship that year, defeating Amosov once again.

Ikram Aliskerov’s Sambo career was nothing less than extraordinary, as he had wins over some of the most skillful Sambo athletes in the world. Besides Amosov, the Dagestan native also beat Raimond Magomedaliev and Murad Kerimov.

The majority of Dagestani fighters heavily emphasize wrestling, rather than striking. Is Aliskerov’s striking any good? Well, his record shows that he’s a pretty well-rounded athlete.

Is Aliskerov also a good striker?

In MMA, striking is as important as wrestling and grappling, and Ikram Aliskerov is well-loaded with both skills. His striking revolves around his jab. According to an analysis by ‘The Fight Premier’, Aliskerov is a fairly dangerous striker when it comes to using the V-step, a type of movement that involves moving ahead straight while stepping back diagonally to any side. It could be right or left.

Ikram Aliskerov also has a knack for demonstrating the proper use of safety lead, which is a way to throw a punch, a jab to be exact while moving towards the opponent diagonally. The safety lead and the V-step are instrumental ways of making a jab most effective, and that’s what Ikram Aliskerov is good at. His striking is so good that 6 of his 15 career wins have come by knockout, while he’s registered 5 submission wins.

What do you make of Ikram Aliskerov and his fighting style? Can he overcome the former champion Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia? Drop your comments below.