Ikram Aliskerov believes Robert Whittaker was well aware of his existence even before their fight got booked.
Whittaker was originally scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in the main event at UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 in Saudi Arabia. Chimaev was forced out of the fight due to severe illness, and Aliskerov stepped up on short notice to replace “Borz”. The weight cut was not an issue for Aliskerov, as he was originally scheduled to face Brazilian debutant Antonio Trocoli at UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15.