‘Take his head off’: Aussie Rob Whittaker vows to dominate UFC ‘slugfest’ after opponent change

Australia’s Rob Whittaker has vowed to take off his opponent’s head in his UFC fight this weekend following a last-minute change.

Australia’s Rob Whittaker plans to take the head off his opponent in their main event clash at UFC Riyadh Fight Night this weekend.

On Sunday (AEDT) Whittaker takes on Russia’s Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi Arabia after the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev pulled out with an undisclosed illness at the start of this week.

Whittaker is favoured to beat Aliskerov after the Aussie beat Paulo Costa in his last fight in February.

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“It was a stressful couple of hours while we were trying to find a new opponent, but once we got that locked in, it’s much the same,” Whittaker told news.com.au.

“It’s another fight week, he brings the same level of threat as anybody else that I’ve had to fight. Let’s see what happens.

“As soon as I found out my opponent, I watched some fights to get an idea of what he’s going to bring to the table. In a lot of respects, he’s more dangerous than Chimaev, especially mentally wise because he has nothing to lose and everything to gain really. It’s a dangerous fight.

“He’s a strong, tough guy and he was ready to fight last week, so I expect nothing but a test, a war, a slugfest.”

Aussie Rob Whittaker is on a mission. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Asked if he would like to fight Chimaev at some stage, Whittaker said: “I don’t really have a wish list of fights. They just happen. I just wish him all the best with his health.

“What we do is a job, a career, a sport. Outside of the octagon we’re just people and I wish him only the best.”

Five years after becoming Australia’s first UFC champion, Whittaker is still the No. 3 ranked middleweight and enjoying mixing it in arguably the most stacked and entertaining weight division.

Israel Adesanya is set to fight middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth in August, while American Sean Strickland is also at the top of the division.

“You know what, I’m really enjoying my career thus far,” Whittaker said.

“It’s an exciting time to be a middleweight. I feel like I’m making a lot of ground and I’m really starting to hit my best strides now. Every day is a treat.”

Whittaker isn’t phased by the change of opponent. Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images/AFP.

As for the last minute change of opponent, the 33-year-old said Aliskerov scares him “no less than any other guy”.

“He wants to take my head off no less than Chimaev did,” Whittaker said.

“I train to beat everyone. Chimaev, Ikram, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to get in there and put on my best fight. I’m going to leave it all there.

“I’m going to go in there and hunt Ikram for 25 minutes, got to war, put on a slugfest and try and take his head off, then go home and spend time with my family. That’s all that matters for me.

“I having geared up ready to go make it an absolute slugfest, a war of a fight for 25 minutes.

“I know that with the approach of being the hunter in this fight, it’s not going to last that long. I’m going to hurt him and I’m going to hurt him until he can’t take anymore.”