The news was first announced by Jackson's management, Iridium Sports Agency, in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter). The event will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s first visit to Saudi Arabia and will be headlined by a high-caliber middleweight matchup pitting Khamzat Chimaev against former champion Robert Whittaker.
Jackson (13-2) is currently on a four-fight winning streak, most recently securing an impressive Round 1 knockout victory over Rani Yahya in April 2023. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum also has wins over the likes of Brian Kelleher, Julio Arce, J.P. Buys, and Jesse Strader, among others.
The 32-year-old Nurmagomedov (18-3) will enter the Octagon on the heels of a Round 1 submission victory over Muin Gafurov at UFC 294 that saw him rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Jonathan Martinez. Prior to facing Martinez, Nurmagomedov had four straight bouts, a run that included wins over Saidyokub Kakhramonov, Cody Stamann, Douglas Silva de Andrade and Mark Striegl.