UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs Aliskerov Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Reaper Claims Another Victim

Robert Whittaker faces off against Ikram Aliskerov in the main event for UFC Fight Night betting this Saturday from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Whittaker was originally supposed to fight Khamzat Chimaev at this event but with Chimaev withdrawing due to an illness, Aliskerov was shifted from last week's card.

UFC odds have the former title challenger Whittaker installed as a -145 favorite with the fast-rising Aliskerov coming back at +125. Here are my best free UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov picks and predictions for June 22.

Whittaker vs Aliskerov prediction and pick

• Prediction
  Whittaker moneyline (-145 at BET99)
  
  
• Best Bet
  Whittaker by decision (+265 at BET99)

Fight analysis

Aliskerov has three first-round finishes in three trips to the octagon but this is a massive step up in competition. He earned a UFC contract with a Contender Series win against Mario Sousa two years ago but Sousa is clearly not a UFC-caliber fighter.

Aliskerov starched Phil Hawes in the first round of his UFC debut but Hawes has been knocked out in four of his last five fights. In his most recent bout, Aliskerov knocked out Warlley Alves, who is 2-6 in his last eight with four of those losses coming inside the distance. The toughest opponent that Aliskerov has ever faced was ironically, Chimaev at Brave CF back in 2019, and Khamzat knocked him out cold in two minutes. 

Now Aliskerov takes on Whittaker who has gone 14-3 over the last decade with his only defeats during that span coming against former champion Israel Adesanya and current champ Dricus du Plessis.

There is some concern with the damage that Whittaker has absorbed in his career but he proved that his chin is still solid in his last fight when he ate a spinning head kick from Paulo Costa in the opening round and went on to dismantle him the rest of the way. 

Expect Whittaker to weather the early storm from Aliskerov and use his more technical kickboxing and experience to pull away in the later rounds. 

Best best analysis

While both of these fighters have only nine days to prepare for each other, the adjustment should be much easier for Whittaker. He was training to fight a highly-dangerous grappler with knockout power in Chimaev so it won't take much to adjust to a finisher with a combat sambo background like Aliskerov. 

On the other hand, Aliskerov was a -1,300 favorite against a BJJ specialist in Antonio Trocoli last weekend. Trocoli was going to be making his promotional debut after a 31-month absence from the sport and was moving down to middleweight after fighting at 205 for most of his career. Suffice to say, facing a well-rounded UFC veteran like Whittaker is a massive change from a tomato can like Trocoli. 

In addition, Aliskerov will now be fighting in a five-round main event after previously preparing for a three-round bout. Aliskerov has never gone past 15 minutes and his last three fights ended inside the first round. 

Whittaker is a cardio machine that knows how to control the pace and has fought in several 25-minute fights. With Whittaker's last seven wins coming by decision, grab that prop at big plus money. 

Robert Whittaker vs Ikram Aliskerov odds

Method of Victory	Whittaker	Aliskerov
To win outright	-145	+125
To win by KO/TKO	+195	+260
To win by points	+265	+800
To win by submission	+1,500	+800
Draw	+2,500	+2,500

Odds as of 6-20.

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Robert Whittaker vs Ikram Aliskerov tale of the tape

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