“Khamzat escaped” - MMA Twitter goes ballistic after Robert Whittaker starches Ikram Aliskerov inside one round at UFC Saudi Arabia

Fans praised Robert Whittaker for his dominant KO win over Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia. The milestone event marked UFC's first visit to the Middle-Eastern country and had a lot of attention.

Aliskerov stepped in to fight Whittaker on two week's notice after that latter's original opponent, Khamzat Chimaev was forced to pull out due to a severe health issue. While Aliskerov is widely regarded as one of the best middleweights outside the top 15, he had little to offer the former champion.

After the initial feeling-out process, Whittaker wobbled the Dagestani fighter with an overhand right. He gave Aliskerov different looks with punches and head kick attempts as he struggled to regain composure. A perfectly placed uppercut against the cage sent Aliskerov to the canvas and the referee stopped the action as Whittaker followed up with a few more punches.

The video of the finishing sequence was posted on @SpinninBackfist X.

Watch it below:

Fans took to the comments section of the post and shared their thoughts on Whittaker's performance:

"Khamzat escaped lol," @messiornone commented.

"He would’ve done the exact same thing to Khamzat. I will not elaborate," @UnisquityMmma commented.

"Idk why they thought an unranked dude could hang with one of the best fighters in the UFC," @TheFentoozler commented.

"Levels to this," @kyle_bankus commented.

"That measured uppercut," @adnanbelushi commented.

Others called for a title shot for Whittaker while some praised Aliskerov for saving the card by stepping up to fight one of the best fighters in the UFC middleweight division:

"Absolute legend of the game. Would love to see Bobby get another title shot," @Sanabul commented.

"Whittaker is next after DDP vs Izzy. Someone might want to check on Sean right now," @JUchiha909 commented.

"Ikram is a hero for taking this fight. But he took it on short notice and did net get enough time to prepare for it," @PlatinumOmar commented.

The win marked Whittaker's second-straight victory since an upset defeat against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 in July 2023. It also makes him one of the frontrunners for the potential title shot against the winner of Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya, scheduled to take place at UFC 305 in August.