The UFC finally has a date for Robert Whittaker’s title defense against Kelvin Gastelum, and ‘The Reaper’ will have a home advantage.
The fight promotion announced on Tuesday (h/t Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting) that both men will collide in the UFC 234 main event on Feb. 10 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Whittaker, the No. 15-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, trains out of Sydney, Australia.
Both men were selected as opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 28, which is set to conclude on Nov. 30 at Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Whittaker and Gastelum were once former contestants on the show, with Whittaker winning The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes welterweight tournament and Gastelum being crowned middleweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 17.
Whittaker, 27, is on a nine-fight win streak and holds back-to-back wins over former Olympian Yoel Romero. The New Zealand-born fighter beat Romero to win the interim middleweight title at UFC 213 and earned a split decision over ‘Soldier of God’ in what was supposed to be a title unification bout. Romero, however, missed weight by 0.2 lbs. and was ineligible to challenge for the title.
Gastelum, a former welterweight contender, returned to the middleweight division in 2016 and surged into the top-five rankings. The 27-year-old holds wins over the likes of ‘Jacare’ Souza, Michael Bisping, Tim Kennedy and Johny Hendricks.