Khamzat Chimaev's withdrawal from UFC Fight Night on Saturday is a major blow, but there are still things to look forward to. Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov headlines the event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a solid undercard.
UFC's matchmaking model in 2024 seems to be organized into three tiers: pay-per-views, traveling Fight Nights and Fight Nights at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Look at this weekend's card and it's significantly stacked compared to last week's show headlined by Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira.
Multiple fighters ranked by the UFC are featured on Saturday, including former title challengers Sergei Pavlovich, Kelvin Gastelum and Volkan Oezdemir. Riyadh also hosts several dynamic fighters like fan-favorite Jonny Walker.
Take a look below at three fights worth watching outside of Saturday's main event.
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
This heavyweight fight has title implications. Pavlovich is an ultra-powerful slugger coming off a loss to Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC heavyweight title in November. The knockout artist looks to rebound after having a six-fight, first-round KO streak snapped. Former Bellator heavyweight champion Volkov hasn't looked this sharp since a 4-0 start in the UFC was ended by the legendary, come-from-behind KO by Derrick Lewis in 2018. Volkov looks to tie his UFC-best winning streak following stoppage wins in his last three fights. The winner might be as close as one more fight from a heavyweight title shot.
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
There are a lot of eyes on Magomedov, better known to UFC fans as "Shara Bullet." The Russian fighter debuted at UFC 294 in October with a decision win over Bruno Silva. It was a rare decision win for Magomedov, but he swept the nine-fight UFC veteran and nearly doubled him in total strikes. "Shara Bullet" can build on his fast-growing legend with an impressive show against short-notice replacement Joilton Lutterbach. The Brazilian fighter is a 47-fight veteran on a four-fight winning streak. Lutterbach, a Professional Fighters League alum, even fought current UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in a losing effort in 2019. Saturday could showcase Magomedov's 83% KO rate against a very experienced foe.
Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
If Walker is on the card, he's likely in this column. After years of squandered potential, the light heavyweight contender appeared to turn a corner in the last two. Consecutive wins over Anthony Smith, Paul Craig and Ion Cutelaba set him up for big things but a knockout loss to Magomed Ankalev was a major setback. Walker -- who has 16 KOs in 21 wins -- fights fellow KO artist Oezdemir. There has been a drought of KOs in recent UFC events, but this fight could help fill the well.
Honorable mentions: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez, Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
