‘I’m here to bury Chimaev’… Robert Whittaker claims Khamzat Chimaev is currently the toughest test at middleweight ahead of their UFC 308 fight

At UFC 308 on October 26, Robert Whittaker finally gets the fight he has waited so long for as he and Khamzat Chimaev face off in a five-round co-main event.

The two middleweights were scheduled to fight in a main event this past June, however, Khamzat Chimaev withdrew from the fight just two weeks out as he suffered another health scare.

Instead of withdrawing from the event, Robert Whittaker accepted a late notice change of opponent as he took on the soaring Ikram Aliskerov, subsequently knocking him out in round one.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesRobert Whittaker claims Khamzat Chimaev is the toughest test at 185lbs‘Borz’ Chimaev hasn’t fought since UFC 294 in October of last year due to health problems and issues attaining a visa, preventing him from fighting in America.

Ahead of his fight against ‘The Reaper’ at UFC 308, Chimaev has reunited with his former coaches and has changed his training regime to avoid overtraining which means he will hopefully stay well enough to compete.

Training footage was shared earlier this week of Chimaev looking in great shape ahead of his clash with Whittaker, with fans claiming that the Russian is looking faster than ever.

Whilst still undefeated, Whittaker believes the Chechen is currently the toughest test in the division because of the element of unknown that comes with fighting Chimaev.

“Well right now, it’s obviously Chimaev, right? Because it’s unknown, it’s territory and ground that hasn’t been trodden yet so yeah, I respect the task at hand, and yeah, I’m just looking forward to it,” Whittaker told talkSPORT MMA.

“I’m in there to do a job, I’m in there to try and put him away, to bury Chimaev,” Whittaker continued.

Despite this being a huge fight in the middleweight title picture, the winner will likely have to wait for the culmination of Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland before they are afforded a title shot, with that fight being targeted for the beginning of next year.

APPROVAL: ‘I like the fight’… Dana White reacts after Conor McGregor names new comeback opponent and date for 2025Robert Whittaker claims Chimaev will be in ‘deep waters’ as soon as he steps into the OctagonThis is likely Chimaev’s toughest test to date, on paper, with his last fight against Kamaru Usman coming on short notice for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.

The former middleweight champion believes he holds a big advantage over ‘Borz’ over five rounds and has claimed that as soon as Chimaev has stepped into the cage, he will be in deep waters.

“As soon as he steps inside that Octagon with me, he’s in deep waters. Then he’s already in the waters I want him to be in,” Whittaker chillingly stated.

With Strickland and Du Plessis having already clashed earlier this year, Whittaker believes the fight will play out the same as their first meeting as Strickland doesn’t have the tools to change the outcome.

“I think very much similar to the first time they crossed paths. Strickland might have to do something very different which I don’t know if he can because that’s not how he fights to beat him,” Whittaker predicted.

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