UFC on ABC 6 post-event facts: Robert Whittaker closes in on Anderson Silva record
The octagon traveled to Saudi Arabia for the first time Saturday with UFC on ABC 6 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, and in the main event, a former champion delivered one of his career-best wins.
Ex-middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) showed up in a big way with a first-round knockout of short-notice replacement opponent Ikram Aliskerov (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), proving he’s still among the top of the heap in the weight class.
It was one of just four stoppages on the 11-bout card, and for more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ABC 6.
* * * *
Event stats
Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov
Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov
Whittaker improved to 14-3 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.
Whittaker’s 14 victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Michael Bisping (16) and Brad Tavares (15).
Whittaker has earned 15 of his 26 career victories by stoppage. That includes all five of his UFC middleweight finishes.
Whittaker’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are second-most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (12).
Aliskerov has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich
Alexander Volkov’s (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Sergei Pavlovich (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Pavlovich suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez
Daniel Rodriguez’s (17-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2022.
Rodriguez has suffered three of his five career losses by decision.
Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli
Magomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all of those wins by knockout.
Antonio Trocoli (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker
Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) has earned 15 of his 20 career victories by stoppage.
Johnny Walker (21-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) fell to 4-6 with one no contest in his past 11 fights dating back to November 2019.
Walker has suffered seven of his nine career losses by stoppage. He’s been finished by knockout in all four of his UFC stoppage defeats.
Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon
Nasrat Haqparast (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has earned seven of his nine UFC victories by decision.
Jared Gordon (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) fell to 5-6 with one no contest in UFC lightweight competition.
Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov
Lima (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is on a 13-fight winning streak after losing his MMA debut in August 2015.
Muhammad Naimov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a submission defeat.
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby
Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-1-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) extended his unbeaten streak to 22 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since June 2013.
Fakhretdinov’s 22-fight unbeaten streak in MMA competition is longest among active fighters on the UFC roster.
Fakhretdinov has earned three of his four UFC victories by decision.
Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1 MMA, 7-4-1 UFC) fell to 6-2 with one no contest since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.
Dalby has suffered all five of his career losses by decision.
Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang
Kyung Ho Kang (19-11 MMA, 8-5 UFC) fell to 6-4 since he returned to competition from a nearly 3.5-year layoff in January 2018.
Kang has suffered all five of his UFC losses by decision.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.