MMA Junkie reported earlier today that Robert Whittaker has verbally agreed to fight Rafael Natal at UFC 197 in April with a formal announcement to be made by the UFC shortly.
Whittaker (15-4) has been on the sidelines since his unanimous decision victory over Uriah Hall at UFC 193 which catapulted him into the middleweight division top ten. He is currently ranked eighth and is on a four fight win streak.
Rafael Natal (21-1-6) is also is on a four fight win streak with his latest victory, a TKO over Kevin Casey coming in the third round, just last month at UFC on FOX 18. The fight against Whittaker will be a quick turn around for the UFC veteran on one of the biggest cards of the year.
UFC 197 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones with the co-main event a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo. The event will take place at MGM Grand, Las Vegas on April 24th, 2016 (AEST) and will air live on Pay-Per-View.
