Whittaker and Chimaev were scheduled to fight on June 22 at UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the latter pulled out a week before the tournament due to health issues. Ikram Aliskerov eventually stepped in to replace Hamzat, as Whittaker knocked him out in the first round.
"See you soon, where is that? You can't get to any country. Where do you want to see me?" - Whittaker said on the From The Stands YouTube channel.