Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been ready a very long time for this.
The middleweight contenders have been at most depth as they confronted off forward of their co-main occasion bout Saturday at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, Whittaker and Chimaev engaged in an icy staredown after stepping on the size, neither man permitting themselves to maneuver an inch and even blink.
Watch the faceoff beneath.
The 2 held their floor for a while earlier than being separated and at last cracking a smile. Anticipation for the matchup is comprehensible given the potential title battle implications and the truth that Whittaker and Chimaev have been beforehand scheduled to battle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this previous June, when an sickness to Chimaev compelled the bout to be postponed.
Whittaker as an alternative defeated short-notice alternative Ikram Aliskerov. The previous middleweight champion seeks a 3rd straight win to safe one other shot at championship gold.
Afterwards, each fighters have been transient with their post-faceoff feedback.
“See you tomorrow, guys,” Chimaev mentioned. “I’ve nothing to say.”
“I’m coming for battle tomorrow evening,” Whittaker mentioned. “I’m coming for every little thing. Hope you guys get pleasure from.”
Headliners Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway weren’t as aggressive with their faceoff, however Topuria had rather a lot to say to Holloway as he spoke to him for a number of seconds with Holloway simply nodding alongside.
Holloway appears to be like to develop into simply the second two-time featherweight in UFC historical past (together with Jose Aldo). Just like the co-headliners, neither Holloway nor Topuria have been concerned about allotting any extra trash discuss.
“No extra discuss, battle tomorrow,” Holloway mentioned. “Let’s go, tune in.”
“Tomorrow evening, as soon as once more, you’re going to see why I’m the most effective fighter on the planet,” Topuria mentioned.
Topuria heads into his first championship protection on Saturday after a powerful knockout of Alexander Volkanovski to assert the title at UFC 298 this previous February.
