This is the UFC 294 live blog for Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves, the middleweight main card fight on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
A four-time world combat sambo champion champion, Aliskerov has impressed in his brief UFC career thus far and was originally set to get a shot at a ranked opponent until visa issues forced Nassourdine Imavov out of theis scheduled matchup. Instead, Aliskerov now takes on Alves on short notice but hopes to impress nonetheless, so his next fight can earn him a number next to his name.
A UFC veteran since 2014 when he won The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3, Alves is a career welterweight who has not competed at 185 pounds since that TUF win. Moreover, Alves is also on a bad run of form lately, dropping his past two fights and four of his past six. All of that combines to make Alves the biggest underdog on the entire card.
Check out the UFC 294 main card middleweight fight live blog below.
