The UFC was in Saudi Arabia for the first time with former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker making a statement welcoming Ikram Aliskerov to the top tier of the 185-pound division.
Whittaker was initially supposed to face Khamzat Chimaev before the undefeated star withdrew from the event last week due to illness and was replaced by Aliskerov, who was thrust into the main event spotlight in only his third UFC appearance.
Russian heavyweight knockout artists Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov met in the co-main event of an intriguing main card that also featured popular veterans Kelvin Gastelum and Johnny Walker.
Here is the full list of results from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh:
MAIN CARD
-- Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov by knockout at 1:49 of Round 1
-- Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
-- Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-- Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli by TKO at 2:27 of Round 3
-- Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker by knockout at 2:28 of Round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD
Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:15 of Round 3
Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
Muin Gafurov def. Kang Kyung-ho by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeiro by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Lee Chang-ho def. Xiao Long by split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
6:34
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