A UFC middleweight title shot in Sydney, Australia looms for Robert Whittaker should he defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308
In short:
The UFC will return to Australia next year with Sydney to host UFC 312 on February 9. Local superstars Alex Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker are both aiming to be on the card.
What's next?
Whittaker is expected to earn a shot at the middleweight title should he down Khamzat Chimaev next weekend at UFC 308.
It's a task many UFC fighters refuse to even attempt but if Robert Whittaker can down Khamzat Chimaev he'll likely earn a shot at regaining the middleweight title in front of a hometown crowd in Sydney.
The UFC confirmed on Thursday the promotion will return to the Harbour City in February with UFC 312 and with current middleweight champion Dricus du Plussis already making noise that he plans to be on the card, a showdown with Whittaker shapes as a fine co-main event alongside former featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski's return to the cage.
But before that double bill of Australian UFC legends can happen, Whittaker must first take down Chimaev, the undefeated Chechen powerhouse who is the closest thing mixed martial arts has to a bogeyman, at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
At 15-0, Chimaev has smashed his way to stardom in recent years. Everything about him, from a fighting style that can be alternate between smothering and shockingly destructive to his howling work on the microphone post-fight, is designed to intimidate.
His nickname, "Borz", doubles as the Chechnyan word for wolf and the name of the improvised machine guns used in the Chechnan-Russian wars of the mid 1990s.
Reliability has been an issue – Chimaev has fought just four times in the past four years due to injury and illness – but simply put, he's the kind of fighter other fighters try and avoid, which is exactly why Whittaker wants him in the first place.
"If you take away all the noise, he's very dangerous. There's a high-calibre wrestling game that he's adapted to MMA and he's got knockout power as well and a chin," said Whittaker.
"He can take shots, he can give shots, he's a hard fight for anyone and I like being the underdog, the anomaly, it's a position of strength for me.
"For better or worse, all hard things make me better and I can only see this test, facing a guy who's 15-0, as a great test to go through. Imagine how good I'm going to be after this fight?"
Whittaker himself has roared back into top form since his shock loss to du Plessis in a title eliminator just over 12 months ago.
A hell-for-leather decision over Paulo Costa and a first round knockout of Ikram Aliskerov, who was a late replacement for Chimaev, has put Whittaker firmly back into the frame for UFC gold.
Du Plussis's camp has already indicated he will be their preferred opponent should he down Chimaev
"This is my third fight this year, I haven't done that in a long time, but I feel better than I ever have. I feel strong, I feel fit, I'm excited for the test and the trial," said Whittaker.
"It's exciting because I feel it in my blood, I feel the heat, I feel locked in and dangerous, like a hunter.
"That's what I've been perfecting over the last year. I'm going into this fight to be a hunter, to be dangerous."
It's been five years since Whittaker fought in Australia, and should he hit the Octagon in February, it will be 11 years since his last fight in his hometown.
So much has happened since then – Whittaker has won the middleweight title and lost and established himself as one of the best fighters of his generation and one of Australia's top MMA exports.
His first child was born just months after that last fight, now he has five of them. He's a different fighter and a different man.
"My whole objective is to be the best combat athlete I can possibly be," said Whittaker.
"Every fight and every camp pushes me towards that goal, there were times I wasn't as focused on that objective but I'm back now and you can see every fight how I push that envelope.
"I'm getting closer to that ultimate version of myself."
