ABU DHABI – Ikram Aliskerov may only be two fights into his UFC career, but has already been connected to a pair of names near the top of the middleweight division in Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev. After finishing Phil Hawes in just over two minutes in his UFC debut in May, Aliskerov (15-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was then booked to face Costa in July. The fight never came to fruition as Costa was dealing with contract issues, and both fighters were rebooked. Aliskerov, 30, was given a date at UFC 294 against Nassourine Imaov, but due to visa problems, Warlley Alves ended up being the replacement for the pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Aliskerov made quick work of Alves, blasting him with a jumping switch knee, which led to his third-straight first-round finish
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