When Robert Whittaker agreed to train with Khamzat Chimaev to hunt down "bad guys" - "We can run amok on a lot of people"

UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker had previously reciprocated his upcoming opponent Khamzat Chimaev's desire to train with him.

Back in 2022, prior to Chimaev's return to the middleweight division, Whittaker was asked about facing Chimaev and the latter's comments on wanting to train with him, on MMA on SiriusXM. The former middleweight champion affirmed that he was down with the idea. He also went on to state that the two will make a successful pairing in training.

He said:

“Yeah, I heard what Khamzat [Chimaev] said about wanting to fight bad guys. I can get behind that. If he wants to train together, I want to train together and we can go hunt bad guys together, you know. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. And I think we can run amok on a lot of people.”

Whittaker went on to speculate on potential middleweight matchups for Chimaev, including former champions Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.

Check out Robert Whittaker's full comments below on X:

Although those matchups haven't materialized yet, UFC boss Dana White confirmed that Chimaev will feature in his second middleweight bout against Whittaker when the UFC heads to Saudi Arabia in June.

Check out Dana White's announcement below:

The Saudi Arabian card will also feature a heavyweight clash between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov. Additionally, highly-rated Russian middleweight Sharabutdin Magomedov will take on Ihor Potieria in his second UFC fight.

Check out the post below on Instagram:

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Robert Whittaker reacts to upcoming Khamzat Chimaev fight in Saudi Arabia

Following Dana White's official announcement, Robert Whittaker reacted to his next fight on X (formerly Twitter).

Whittaker wrote:

"Once more into the fray #ufcfightnight #SaudiArabia"

Check out Robert Whittaker's post below on X:

'The Reaper' has had a mixed run of form in his last few fights, losing twice in his last four fights. However the losses have come at the hands of current champion Dricus du Plessis and former champ Israel Adesanya.

Whittaker will aim to test the No.11 ranked Khamzat Chimaev, who has had a stellar unbeaten run in the UFC since his debut. Chimaev has finished five of his seven outings in the octagon. With a win over Whittaker, a former champion at middleweight, 'Borz' can cement his status as a legitimate middleweight contender and stake his claim for a title shot.