A middleweight title bout is headlining UFC 234 according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN as Robert Whittaker defends the strap against #4 Kelvin Gastelum.
Whittaker (20-4-0) is going to be making the first defense of the championship, having previously fought Yoel Romero in a non-title encounter at UFC 225 after Romero missed weight for the title bout. Whittaker enters the contest while riding a nine fight winning streak and he hasn’t suffered a defeat in over four years. Whittaker has seen his last two fights go the distance and he hasn’t gotten a finish in well over a year.
Gastelum (15-3-0-1NC) enters the contest on a two fight winning streak, having defeated the duo of Michael Bisping and Ronaldo Souza. Gastelum has suffered three losses as a professional MMA fighter, with two of them coming to past and/or current UFC champions. Gastelum was also the middleweight winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 17, defeating Uriah Hall in the finals of the reality show.
UFC 234 is taking place on Saturday, February 9 from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia with Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
