With middleweight champion Michael Bisping on the sidelines due to a knee injury, Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero will square off for the interim title at UFC 213.
The fight, which was first reported by Brett Okamoto and later announced by the UFC, will serve as the show’s co-main event on July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Previously slated for the co-main event, Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 has been elevated to the headline slot after injury forced the bantamweight title fight between T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt to be canceled.
UFC president Dana White revealed just days ago that the promotion was looking at matching Whittaker against Romero after news broke of Bisping’s injury and now Whittaker officially has a chance to make history. “The Reaper” (18-4) has won seven fights in a row with the 26 year-old Aussie’s most recent victory coming against Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FOX 24.
Ranked number one in the division, Romero (12-1) is coming off a devastating flying knee knockout of former middleweight champion Chris Weidman back in November, 2016. The victory made it eight in a row for the 40 year-old Cuban.
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