BREAKING NEWS: Robert Whittaker is OUT of his middleweight title defense against Kevin Gastelum. pic.twitter.com/ZfPUEn9YQM
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 9, 2019
Robert Whittaker, the defending UFC middleweight champion, will not make his scheduled title defense Saturday night at UFC 234 vs. Kelvin Gastelum.
According to ESPN, Whittaker suffered an abdominal hernia late Friday night after weigh-ins and is already scheduled for surgery.
The new main event will see Anderson Silva take on Israel Adesanya in a bout that was previously reported as a No. 1 contender match in the middleweight division.
Here is the new UFC 234 lineup. Absolutely gutted for Robert Whittaker. Man. pic.twitter.com/hv2rEPjifF
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 9, 2019