Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev Prediction: ‘Bobby Knuckles’ takes on unbeaten Russian

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker takes on unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 this Saturday, October 26. The bout takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on a card headlined by Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway. TNT Sports will broadcast the event.

Here are my Whittaker vs Chimaev predictions ahead of this middleweight showdown.

‘Bobby Knuckles’ has been there and done that. He became the first Australian to win a UFC belt when he outpointed Yoel Romero in 2017. Whittaker has the second-most post-fight bonuses in middleweight history, behind the legendary Anderson Silva. ‘The Reaper’ has fought a who’s who of the division that includes Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum and Marvin Vettori.

Yet, the Aussie is still motivated. Whittaker still comes to fight and, at the age of 33, still ducks no man. Enter: Chimaev. One of the very toughest fights one could accept at 185lb. The Russian is 13-0 and is coming off the best win of his career. Say what you want about Whittaker, he certainly doesn’t shirk a challenge.

That Chimaev win was a majority decision victory over the great Kamaru Usman. Uncustomarily, the bout was a three-rounder as Usman had taken it on two weeks' notice. Paulo Costa withdrew to have surgery on his elbow. Usman was coming off a pair of defeats to Leon Edwards and was narrowly outscored to give Chimaev his biggest scalp yet.

Chimaev has been steadily building his level of competition. A Fight of the Night win over Gilbert Burns opened some eyes. A brabo choke victory over Kevin Holland kept those peepers peeled. Now the Usman win has put Chimaev over the top. Now ranked 13th by the UFC, the Russian has his eye on third-placed Whittaker.

There is an argument to be made that this is Chimaev’s toughest assignment. Usman, for all his otherworldly ability, was coming off a pair of losses. Whittaker has won his last two fights, decisioning Costa and scoring a Performance of the Night knockout over Ikram Aliskerov. Secondly, this fight is scheduled for five rounds. If it goes beyond the third, this will be Chimaev’s longest-ever UFC outing.

Whittaker has been the five-round distance on five occasions and knows how to pace himself for such a fight. Chimaev will be tested in a way he never has been before. You can prepare in the gym for a long night in the Octagon, but once you get under those hot lights on fight night it is a different story. 

That gets to the heart of this fight. Whittaker is someone who has years of experience at the very top of the UFC. Chimaev is yet to sample that rarefied air for a sustained length of time. This is a pure acid test for the Russian. There may only be three years between them in age, but their experience is like night and day. Will this be the key to unlocking a victory?

Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev Fight Odds

Whittaker is 2/1 to take this while Chimaev is your favourite at 2/5. A draw is 50/1, always a long shot in the UFC.

UFC 308 Full Card

Main Card

Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway 

Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev 

Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige 

Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic 

Shara Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan 

Prelims

Geoff Neal vs Rafael dos Anjos 

Mateusz Rebecki vs Myktybek Orolbai 

Said Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Santos 

Abus Magomedov vs Bruno Ferreira 

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Justin Tafa

Faris Basharat vs Victor Hugo

Ismail Naurdiev vs Bruno Silva

Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev 

Ibo Aslan vs Rafael Cerqueira

Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev Prediction

I think Chimaev will put the division on notice in this one. Whittaker is a phenomenal fighter, but I think those extra miles on his clock will be a hindrance rather than a help. I’m picking the fresher Chimaev to pick up the win.

It has been four years since we have seen Chimaev land a knockout. Meanwhile, Whittaker has not submitted since his pre-UFC days, back in 2011. For that reason, I think Chimaev will ace his first five-round assignment and take the decision at odds of 13/2.

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