Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev will go to war in the co-main event of UFC 308 in what has been dubbed a middleweight title eliminator. The pair were previously scheduled to fight at UFC Saudi Arabia in June, but 'Borz' suffered health complications and was forced to withdraw from the bout.
After making a full recovery, the pair now appear likely to meet in the octagon, barring a potentially disastrous weight cut for either fighter.
With much of the pre-fight talk surrounding Chimaev's elite grappling skillset, 'The Reaper' recently shared a cold-blooded preview of his plans for the clash. The former middleweight champion appeared in front of the media at the pre-fight press conference, where he said this:
"I'm expecting him to come out hard and aggressive from the first second to the last. I have prepared accordingly for that... I'm ready to sprint for 25 minutes if so, and I've come here for war."
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He continued:
"I look to go into this fight hunting him. Much like I planned to last fight, I look to do again this fight. I'm the hunter in this fight, I'm the predator, I'm gonna be looking for him."
Catch Robert Whittaker's pre-fight comments below (2:30):
Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev broken down by Israel Adesanya
Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently shared his prediction for Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev, an electric matchup set for UFC 308.
Having fought and defeated Whittaker on two occasions, Adesanya is familiar with the Australian's skillset.
Despite having not faced Chimaev, 'The Last Stylebender' noted that he was most dangerous in the early rounds of the fight, something that 'The Reaper' would need to get through in order to secure victory.
The two-time middleweight champion broke down the co-main event matchup during a recent video on his YouTube channel, FREESTYLEBENDER, and said this:
"Will he be able to stop Khamzat's onslaught of takedowns and grappling exchanges in the first two rounds? I'd say early on, Khamzat is gonna submit him if he's gonna win. Later on, Rob will just TKO him in Round 3, 4 or 5. I don't know which one."
He continued:
"Rob is not a guy to be f**ked with... I think Rob will do it again... I think he'll catch [Chimaev] later on, he just needs to weather the storm."
Watch Adesanya predict Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev below (8:20):