Israel Adesanya predicts dominant stoppage in Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia: “Banger of a fight"

Israel Adesanya's former rival Robert Whittaker will face surging prospect Ikram Aliskerov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22. The fight was announced on short notice, with Whittaker's original opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, forced to withdraw due to illness.

'The Reaper' is eager to work his way back to another UFC title shot but will face a stiff challenge in the lesser-known Aliskerov. Whittaker admitted that prior to agreeing to fight the Dagestani, he had not heard of him before.

With the unranked middleweight contender touted as a future title challenger, a victory over the 31-year-old will help prove that Whittaker still belongs among the division's elite.

'The Last Stylebender' recently broke down the UFC Saudi Arabia main event, where he predicted a stoppage finish, saying this:

"Rob, he was ready to wrestle this fight anyway, so the wrestling is going to be top-tier. Striking will be nice. Banger, I like this fight. It's a banger of a fight. But [Aliskerov], who did he last beat?"

He continued:

"Big step-up in competition though, against Rob. Former champion, still on the hunt, still dangerous. I'm picking Rob in this fight. I think Rob is gonna beat the breaks off of this guy. Maybe from Round 2 onwards, I think Rob gets passed Round 1, he starts putting it on this guy and he's gonna feel a different beast... I just know how good Rob is, so I'm gonna go Rob probably [Round] 3 or 4, TKO."

Watch Israel Adesanya's breakdown below (6:20):

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Robert Whittaker predicts Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305

Israel Adesanya's hiatus from fighting will come to an end when he faces off against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 for the middleweight title.

'Stillknocks' won the title against Sean Strickland at UFC 297, and given the tension between himself and Adesanya, the promotion has matched up the pair for a highly anticipated title clash.

Robert Whittaker, a former opponent of both fighters, recently shared his thoughts on the UFC 305 main event during an interview with Sporting News. He broke down the clash, saying this:

"I think the performance we saw displayed in his last fight, that level of pressure he put on Sean Strickland, he’ll use to great effect against Adesanya, especially when we saw Strickland use the same sort of thing against Adesanya when they fought. I’m going to lean towards Dricus for this one."