Following his disappointing late withdrawal from UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs Bigfoot in Brisbane earlier this month, Robert Whittaker (pictured) will return to the Octagon against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 170.
The new matchup for the Feb. 22 show, which is scheduled for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, was revealed by UFC officials today.
Whittaker (11-3) was left opponent-less for the Brisbane event just 2 weeks from go time due to his slated opponent, Brian Melancon, retiring from all competition.
We last saw the TUF ‘Smashes’ winner in an entertaining clash with Court McGee at UFC Fight Night 27. The 22 year-old Aussie found himself on the wrong side of a split points decision in that fight, which was his first defeat in the promotion after back to back wins over Brad Scott and Colton Smith.
Stephen Thompson (8-1) is currently enjoying a two-fight win streak in the UFC with victories over Nah-Shon Burrell and Chris Clements, who he stopped with strikes in his last outing at UFC 165. The 30 year-old’s lone defeat in the promotion, in which his record stands at 3 wins and 1 loss, was to Matt Brown at UFC 145.
UFC 170 will see the undefeated Daniel Cormier make his light heavyweight debut agasinst former champion Rashad Evans in the main event.
Updated Lineup:
- Daniel Cormier vs Rashad Evans
- Rory MacDonald vs Demian Maia
- Rafael dos Anjos vs Rustam Khabilov
- Mike Pyle vs T.J. Waldburger
- Raphael Assuncao vs Francisco Rivera
- Stephen Thompson vs Robert Whittaker
