Whittaker vs Gastelum Targeted for UFC 234

On Friday, it was reported that Dana White is targeting the UFC 234 event on February 9th in Australia to set up the middleweight title fight between Champion Robert Whittaker and contender Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker was originally supposed to defend the title at UFC 221 against Luke Rockhold, but due to an injury, he was forced to pull out. In result, Yoel Romero took his place and defeated Rockhold by knockout in the third round.

Gastelum has worked hard to earn a title fight against Whittaker by battling top names such as Chris Weidman, Tim Kennedy, and Johnny Hendricks; all of whom have either all held gold or have fought for a shot at it. Gastelum used to be a welterweight and was elite in that division, but due to his weight, he moved up to the middleweight division. Since the transition, he has added names to his resume like Michael Bisping and Ronaldo Souza.

Whittaker was recently involved in a non-title fight against Romero where he was victorious via split-decision. Since up to the middleweight division in 2014, Whittaker has won 8 of his last 10 fights. If booked officially, Whittaker will finally be able to defend his title in his home country, which is the dream for most fighters.

The reason this fight hasn’t been booked is due to Whittaker suffering a broken hand at UFC 225. Both men have been coaches on the 28th season of The Ultimate Fighter to help build the hype up for their fight, and with this report, it only adds to the excitement.

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