Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is all set to take on Kelvin Gastelum this weekend at UFC on ESPN 22 at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas.
Robert Whittaker was initially scheduled to fight Paulo Costa, but the Brazilian had to pull out of the fight following the lingering effects of Covid-19.
Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum were initially booked to fight at UFC 234 in February of 2019 at the Rod Lavar Arena in Melbourne in Australia. The fight had to be cancelled after Robert Whittaker pulled out the fight with a hernia and twisted bowl.
Kelvin Gastelum then fought Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 in one of the best fights of 2019 and lost via decision. Since then Kelvin went 2-1 in the UFC with his most recent win coming against Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 last month.
Whittaker lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 and then went on to defeat Darren Till at UFC on ESPN 14 and then Jared Cannonier at UFC 254.
UFC Vegas 24: Whittaker vs Gastelum Prelims Result
Men’s bantamweight: Tony Gravely (21-6, 2-1 UFC) def. Anthony Birchak (16-8, 0-2 UFC) by second-round TKO
Lightweight: Austin Hubbard (13-5, 3-3 UFC) vs. Dakota Bush (8-3, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision
Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (32-14, 7-6 UFC) def. Bartosz Fabinski (15-5, 4-3 UFC) by first-round submission
Strawweight: Jessica Penne (13-6, 2-3 UFC) def. Lupita Godinez (5-1, 0-1 UFC) by split decision
Heavyweight: Alexander Romanov (14-0, 3-0 UFC) def. Juan Espino (11-2, 2-1 UFC) by technical split decision
MAIN CARD:
Lightweight: Luis Pena (8-3, 4-3 UFC) defeats Alexander Muñoz (6-1, 0-1 UFC) via split decision
Women’s flyweight: Tracy Cortez (8-1, 2-0 UFC) DEFEATS Justine Kish (7-3, 3-3 UFC) via split decision