Against All Odds: Ikram Aliskerov’s Shot at UFC Glory
Things change rapidly in the sport of mixed martial arts. One day, you’re struggling to find a worthy opponent who can help you crack into the UFC’s middleweight rankings. The next you’re fighting a top ranked contender and former champion on two weeks notice. This is the story of Ikram Aliskerov.
He faces Robert Whittaker this weekend in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Originally scheduled last week, Aliskerov was tapped to face Whittaker after Khamzat Chimaev pulled out of the fight due to illness. Now, Aliskerov has his shot at the rankings, perhaps a bit higher than one would have thought off the bat.
Cutting teeth: Combat Sambo World Champion
Looking at Aliskerov’s 15-1 record, we can see the dividends of an accomplished career in combat sambo. There, Aliskerov showed promise. Early on, he trained under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, yes that Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a camp of literal champions like Khabib and Islam Makhachev, Aliskerov skyrocketed in skill ability when he joined at 19 years old.
He would beat future stars of the sport in combat sambo, like Yaroslav Amosov, Murad Kerimov and more. But Aliskerov was looking for more. He wanted bigger glory to chase.
After winning a FIAS championship, the top championship in sambo, Ikram Aliskerov would seek bigger challenges in mixed martial arts.
The early career of Ikram Aliskerov
Ikram Aliskerov cut his teeth early in his MMA careers at BRAVE CF. He debuted with the promotion at 3-0. He rocketed to five straight wins with four finishes.
Then he was paired up with Khamzat Chimaev, which is interesting in hindsight given he is replacing Chimaev this weekend. Disaster struck as Aliskerov was caught with a brutal uppercut from Chimaev that put him out cold. He was undefeated no more.
Losing wasn’t a strange concept to Ikram Aliskerov, however. He’d lost to Alexey Ivanov in his final combat sambo world championships. He’d come back with a vengeance.
Aliskerov came back to beat four straight fighters, including future UFC talent Denis Tiuliulin. His last fight saw him step away from BRAVE and did a fight in Khabib’s Eagle FC, his final regional win.
Getting his shot, Aliskerov was tapped to face Mario Sousa on the Contender Series. There he won a contract with a first round kimura. His time had come.
UFC Bound
With the call to the big show, Ikram Aliskerov started his work. In his debut, he knocked out Phil Hawes in the first round. This put the division on notice. This is when Aliskerov began to have problems booking fights.
He had his next fight booked with Paulo Costa and both fighters were rebooked when Costa was to fight Chimaev. Aliskerov was tapped to face Nassourdine Imavov, who just beat Cannonier, and Imavov withdrew.
Fortunately, Aliskerov was booked to fight, did fight, and knocked out Warlley Alves in the first round. His problems would soon return. Fluffy Hernandez was next but pulled out of the fight before he could face Aliskerov. Andre Muniz was next and, as usual, Muniz pulled.
He was finally tapped to fight last week against Antonio Trocoli before Chimaev pulled out and postponed Aliskerov’s return by a week. Now he faces Robert Whittaker who is third in the middleweight rankings.
From struggling to get a quality fight to fighting the number one contender, Ikram Aliskerov has an opportunity to change the tides in his favor. He will go from begging for a contender to having a ranking spot many covet. First thing’s first, he has to win.
