The UFC will put on its first-ever event in Saudi Arabia tonight. And headlining the event will be fan-favorite former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker. Originally set to face another fan-favorite fighter, Khamzat Chimaev, ‘Borz’, pulled out because of a ‘violent’ illness. Instead, ‘The Reaper’ will now face relative newcomer Ikram Aliskerov, who took the fight on a week’s notice, on the historic Saudi card.

While the latter is only two fights into his UFC career, he is a dangerous prospect who has drawn praise from his Dagestani compatriot Khabib Nurmagomedov, with whom Aliskerov has a relationship going back years. And as the hour of the bout that might see him catapult from being unranked in the middleweight division to being in the title picture approaches, Nurmagomedov has sent out a sobering reminder to Aliskerov and his team.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a message for Ikram Aliskerov ahead of Whittaker fight

Ikram Aliskerov trained under coaches who had sharpened their skills in Khabib’s father Abdulmanap‘s gym, and has even trained with ‘The Eagle’ before. And the former lightweight champion has a very high opinion of Aliskerov, as he praised the Dagestani, whom he has known “since childhood” for using “200% of his capabilities” every time he fights and confidently declaring that he is a “future star”.

Khabib took to his Instagram Story, posting a picture of Aliskerov and his team, with a brief caption reminding them of the challenging task they have in front of them. “Сегодня у них нелегкая задача,” Khabib wrote, which translates to “Today they have a difficult task” and simply refers to the Whittaker fight. While Aliskerov has age and novelty on his side, Whittaker has proven time and again that he is one of the best middleweights in the world.

The laid-back Kiwi lost only two fights in the past decade, both of them either to future champions (Israel Adesanya in 2019, and Dricus Du Plessis last year). Whittaker has one of the most well-rounded skills in all of the UFC, with his effective striking complementing his world-class grappling skills. This is why the Dagestani, with his combat sambo base, is unlikely to have much of a stylistic advantage over ‘The Reaper’ as he would against a striker. Despite being the favorite, Whittaker isn’t taking his opponent lightly.

Whittaker believes Aliskerov poses a ‘unique challenge’

Ikram Aliskerov took the fight on short notice. And while that may seem like a disadvantage for the Dagestani, it is important to remember that Whittaker, too, will fight Aliskerov on short notice. ‘The Reaper’ after all was preparing for a completely different opponent until a few days ago and this short-notice fight has the potential to go wrong for him. But the Kiwi former champion, being the seasoned vet, is well aware of these potential pitfalls, acknowledging them in a recent interview.

However, at the same time, he also expressed confidence in his abilities to emerge victorious on the Saudi card. “I had a pretty Chimaev-ready game plan. Chimaev’s a pretty unique fighter and fights a unique way, so I had a game plan I’d worked for months leading into that. But Ikram brings a different threat to the table. I hadn’t heard of him or seen him fight before that. Sometimes you’ve got to just take things as they come. I have full faith in my skillset and my ability,” ‘The Reaper’ told ‘New York Post Sports.’

What are your predictions for the UFC Saudi Arabia main event? Let us know in the comments.