Khamzat Chimaev will no longer compete in a UFC fight against Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia on June 22, UFC president Dana White announced Thursday.

Instead, middleweight contender Ikram Aliskerov will take on the former middleweight champion Whittaker.

"Unfortunately, Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight next weekend in Saudi Arabia," White said. "Violently, and I mean violently, ill. So he's going back home and hopefully he gets well soon."

Chimaev's manager, Majdi Shammas, elaborated on the illness in a post on Instagram (h/t MMA Junkie):

"The persistent illness that Khamzat has been battling for major parts of training camp could not be cured in time," Shammas wrote. "He has been in and out of hospitals several times. The condition has been kept within the team, since everyone has been absolutely committed to finding a solution. Although all available options have been thoroughly considered, it has now come to a point where the team has mutually agreed that it is not possible to carry on like this. Stepping into the cage not properly prepared against such a formidable opponent as Robert is unfortunately impossible."

Though the fight isn't the originally scheduled event, White assured fans that the matchup between Whitaker and Aliskerov should still be exciting:

"This guy is 15-1. His only loss in a 16-fight pro career is to Khamzat Chimaev. So this dude is a legit contender in only his third UFC fight. If he gets a knockout against Robert Whittaker, he'll go into a tie for the longest active UFC knockout streak... We offered everybody in the division this fight. Nobody would take it except Robert Whittaker. The main event is badass. This should be a great fight."

Aliskerov made his way into the UFC after competing in and winning the Dana White Contender Series against Mário Sousa in 2022, earning a contract in the league. He made his UFC debut in 2023 against Phil Hawes, winning the fight via knockout in the first round. His most recent fight was against Warlley Alves at UFC 294, where he won in the first round via TKO.

While Aliskerov has had an outstanding start to his UFC career, facing Whittaker will be his biggest challenge yet.

Whittaker, who became the UFC middleweight champion in 2017, has a 25-7 record and is coming off a unanimous-decision win against Paulo Costa at UFC 298.

Aliskerov is looking to prove himself in the UFC, and taking on Whittaker will be the perfect opportunity to do so.