This week, for his upcoming main event against Robert Whittaker, I decided to rewatch Ikram Aliskerov’s UFC run up until this point and see what stands out.
Name: Ikram Aliskerov
Record: 15-1
Height: 6’0”
Reach: 76.0”
Weight:185
From: Makhachkala, Russia
Age: 31 (07/12/1992)
Contender Series v Mário Sousa(15-2)
In Ikram’s Contender Series match up he went against Mário Sousa, who had already fought twice on the Contender Series beating Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz(8-0) and losing to Chidi Njokuani(19-7). Ikram starts the fight pressuring Sousa and backing him up against the cage. Sousa is able to move forward, which makes Ikram try to shoot for a takedown, but Sousa is able to defend it. Ikram gets back to using his pressure to get Sousa against the Cage and shoots a better takedown than the first one, and is able to get Sousa down. Ikram is able to isolate the arm of Sousa and get the Kimura less than 20 seconds after landing the takedown.
This fight showed how deadly Ikram can be. For the two minutes, you saw mainly Sousa landing kicks and being able to stop the takedown of Ikram, but Ikram showed that once he is able to get a good grip on you, he will get you down and can get the finish quickly.
UFC 288 v Phil Hawes(12-4)
Ikram’s promotional debut comes against Phil Hawes who is a very good fighter with good wins in the UFC. In the first minute of the fight, you see Ikram throw a snappy jab and a jab to the body of Hawes. Hawes does a good job with his kicks to the body of Ikram and even uses fainting the kick to the body to set up a check hook to the chin of Ikram. Ikram was finding it hard to deal with Hawes' southpaw stance, kicks to the body, and check hooks. Ikram throws a head kick when Hawes is ducking, which does connect with Hawes but doesn’t look like it hurts too much. Ikram uses it to start attacking with a 1-2, then a clinch knee and on the break, he tries an elbow and slips but straight away throws another 1-2 down the pipe and Hawes is out cold.
This is another fight where even with a good start from his opponent in Hawes Ikram is able to wait until he sees an opening and then attack and gets a finish from a very simple 1-2. Although Phil Hawes is known for being very chinny he is still a very good mixed martial artist so to beat him is still a good win.
UFC 294 v Warlley Alves(14-6)
Ikram’s most recent fight in the promotion pitted him against UFC vet Warlley Alves. Early in the fight, Ikram uses a lead teep kick a few times to keep Warlley at range. Ikram drops Warlley with a jab and then backs him up against the cage which Ikram decides to enter with a flying knee which lands and then Ikram tees off throwing a flurry of strikes which finishes Alves.
This is Ikram’s most dominant win in the UFC for me, as he was in control for as long as the fight went, and once he found his opening, he went for it and got the job done. Even though Alves is not the best guy in the UFC, it is still an impressive win to beat him that convincingly and that quickly.
Upcoming v Whittaker
Ikram fights Whittaker this Saturday in Saudi Arabia after coming in on short notice after Khamzat Chimaev( The only man to beat Ikram) pulled out due to sickness. Robert Whittaker is one of the best middleweights the sport has ever seen and is a former Middleweight champion. You would think, with how good Whittaker is and Ikram coming in on short notice, that Whittaker will win very easily, but one thing about Ikram is that even when he doesn't look the best if you give him an opening, he will use it and tends to get the finish. His wrestling could play a big part in this fight if he is able to get a hold of Whittaker. From these fights I’ve watched Ikram doesn’t seem to defend leg kicks great, which Whittaker may use to his advantage as Whittaker has some excellent kicks.
I would still say Whittaker wins, but I feel like Ikram can give a good account of himself in this fight. I hope to see a great fight from both fighters.