Robert Whittaker vows to test Khamzat Chimaev’s hype, says shaking the Chechen-born middleweight’s “undoubted confidence” could be key to victory

Robert Whittaker is eagerly anticipating his matchup against Khamzat Chimaev in Saudi Arabia later this year.

Last month, the UFC President Dana White revealed the complete main card for the organization’s first event in Saudi Arabia. The main event will feature a five-round middleweight bout between ‘The Reaper’ and ‘Borz’, with a potential title shot at stake.

Chimaev considers the upcoming fight against the former champion to be the most significant challenge of his career thus far. Despite his recent win against Kamaru Usman in October, the Chechen’s goal of a title shot has been put on hold as he must first defeat Whittaker in order to have a chance at fighting for a UFC championship.

At the same time, the middleweight fight gives Whittaker an opportunity to test the legitimacy of Chimaev. This is exactly what he expressed in a recent conversation with ONE Championship’s flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson.

During the interview, the former UFC champion expressed their opinion:

“He knows what he does well. He goes in there with undoubted confidence in what he can do. That makes a very dangerous recipe. But it also, if he gets shaken, you don’t know what way the cards are going to fall. So I’m looking forward to testing that. To see how big the hype it is, if you would.”

Take a look at his remarks in the post down below:

Early odds revealed for potential Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev matchup

Despite Robert Whittaker’s impressive record, Khamzat Chimaev is currently favored to win in their upcoming fight.

The announcement of the middleweight bout has garnered mixed reactions from fans. Although ‘Borz’ has been a formidable opponent, he has yet to face someone of the same caliber as ‘The Reaper’.

Despite remaining a formidable fighter, Whittaker has experienced notable defeats in recent years. In addition, he faced challenges and showed signs of weakness in his most recent fight against Paulo Costa in February.

Despite this, it is evident that fans have widely differing opinions on the match. This is also evident in the close betting odds released by DraftKings following the fight announcement by Dana White.

Currently, Khamzat Chimaev holds the favored position with odds of -166 for the fight, while Robert Whittaker is considered a slight underdog with odds of +140. Despite the excitement surrounding ‘Borz’, it appears that many fans are confident in the former champion’s ability to potentially defeat him.