Athletes
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Saudi Arabia
Firing Up The Spotlight For Three Athletes With The Potential To Make Waves This Weekend And In The Future
This weekend, the UFC Octagon ventures to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time for a card that is flush with talent.
Headlined by a pivotal middleweight matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and rising star Ikram Aliskerov with Russian heavyweight bruisers Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov serving as the co-feature, the event, which airs beginning at 12pm EST on Saturday on ESPN and ESPN+, is sure to produce results that send shockwaves through several divisions.
Joining the established contenders and tenured veterans making the walk this weekend are a trio of ascending names that have posted a combined record of 9-0-1 inside the Octagon thus far, establishing themselves as emerging competitors to track in their respective divisions.
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Just in case their exploits have not yet already put them on your radar as we move towards this weekend’s fight card at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, here’s a closer look at the triumvirate of talents that will be looking to continue their unbeaten combined run when they return to action on Saturday.
Muhammad Naimov
Just over one year ago, Muhammad Naimov was a former Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) contestant looking for another opportunity to find his way to the UFC, having strung together three straight victories on the regional circuit since his loss to Collin Anglin on Season 4 of the annual talent search series and subsequent defeat under the Titan FC banner.
Today, Naimov stands ready to make his fourth appearance inside the Octagon, having extended his overall winning streak to six after registering a pair of quality wins last year and a third already in 2024 in the UFC.
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The fighter from Tajikistan, who splits his time between training in Southwest Russia and working with the Elevation Fight Team in Denver, made his promotional debut on short notice, up a division against Australian veteran Jamie Mullarkey and registered a second-round stoppage win. After a competitive back-and-forth battle with Nathaniel Wood at UFC 294, where he landed on the positive side of the scorecards, Naimov returned in February, earning an injury-stoppage win 44 seconds into the opening round when his opponent Erik Silva suffered a leg injury.
It’s been a strange progression of matchups for Naimov through his first three fights and it continues here as he ventures into the fray this weekend against DWCS grad Melsik Baghdasaryan. The 32-year-old kickboxer hasn’t competed since last July when he out-worked Tucker Lutz to get himself back into the win column, and has made just four appearances overall since earning his place on the roster with a win over Dennis Buzukja in September 2020.
For Naimov, this is a chance to keep his momentum going and potentially punch his ticket to a great opportunity in the featherweight ranks going forward. There is a great deal of movement within the division at the moment, and if he can collect a fourth consecutive UFC victory and seventh straight win overall this weekend, “Hillman” could find himself on the cusp of cracking the Top 15 to start the second half of the year.
Ikram Aliskerov
After dealing with several different opponent changes and missed opportunities, Ikram Aliskerov finally gets the opportunity to make a major splash in the middleweight division this weekend as he tags in opposite Robert Whittaker in the main event of this weekend's debut fight card in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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A member of the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) Class of '22, the 31-year-old from Dagestan posted a pair of first-round stoppage wins in his rookie season on the UFC roster last year, opening with a victory over Phil Hawes before adding another win over Warlley Alves at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. As impressive as those performances were — and they were strong showings — what illustrates the upside Aliskerov possesses and how highly regarded he is as an ascending name in the 185-pound weight class is the fact that following the bout with Hawes, he was briefly linked to a matchup with former title challenger Paulo Costa for his sophomore appearance inside the Octagon. It never materialized, but he was booked opposite Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 294 before the Paris-based ascending talent was forced to withdraw and replaced by Alves.
Originally scheduled to compete last weekend in Las Vegas, first against Andre Muniz, and then paired with newcomer Antonio Trocoli when the Brazilian veteran was forced out with a foot injury, Aliskerov jumped at the opportunity to test himself against the former champion this weekend in Riyadh. Whittaker is the divisional equivalent of the second-last boss on a video game — the guy you have to beat in order to truly establish yourself as a title contender and potentially land a championship opportunity of your own — and this pairing will provide everyone with a much clearer understanding of where the once-beaten dark horse stands in the divisional hierarchy.
We've already seen a couple unheralded talents rise to the occasion this year inside the Octagon — most notably Steve Erceg proving himself to be championship caliber in his narrow title fight loss to Alexandre Pantoja — and Aliskerov gets the chance to do something similar here. This feels like a no-lose situation for the talented second-year man, and if he emerges with a win, the middleweight division will have a new contender to consider heading into the second half of the year.
Rinat Fakhretdinov
Russian standout Rinat Fakhretdinov made it to the big show the old-fashioned way: by impressing on the regional circuit and earning key wins over familiar names.
Fakhretdinov lost the second fight of his career in the second fight of a one-night tournament all the way back in the summer of 2013. “Gladiator” then posted 17 consecutive victories, capped by a first-round knockout win over UFC veteran Eric Spicely at UAE Warriors 15 to earn himself a call to the Octagon.
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After posting decision wins over Andreas Michailidis and Bryan Battle in his first two outings, Fakhretdinov forced his way into the spotlight last summer by putting former lightweight contender Kevin Lee to sleep with a high-elbow guillotine choke just 55 seconds into their fight. He returned four months later in Sao Paulo, dominating the early stages of his bout with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos before the roles were reversed and he was forced to hold on down the stretch of their wild encounter that ended in a majority draw.
Competing for the first time in 2024, the streaking Fakhretdinov faces another veteran challenge this weekend in the form of Nicolas Dalby, the Danish former Cage Warriors champ who is coming off an outstanding performance that same Saturday night in Sao Paulo last November.
Entering on a three-fight winning streak, Dalby leaned on his conditioning and wealth of experience to dispatch Gabriel Bonfim, handing the Brazilian prospect the first loss of his career. Though he’s 39 years old, Dalby has never looked better in the UFC, having gone 6-1 with one no contest in eight fights since returning to the promotion.
This is another chance for Fakhretdinov to solidify his baseline position within the division and make a case for taking another step forward whenever he returns. Dalby is a notoriously tough out that will test his gas tank and his focus, and if the Russian welterweight can successfully find his way to another win, a date with someone sporting a number next to their name might not be too far off.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov took place live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 22, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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