TUF The Smashes welterweight winner Robert Whittaker
A pair of welterweight TUF season winners are expected to meet this coming May as TUF: The Smashes victor Robert Whittaker (10-2) takes on TUF 16′s Colton Smith (3-1).
News of the bout was announced by the Australian office of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday with this Tweet (@UFC_Australia).
– TUF champions @RJWhittaker1990 and @ColtonSmithMMA to collide at #UFC160! Details on @dailytelegraph @ufc http://on.ufc.com/YjkyC0
UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Silva II is expected to take place on May 25, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event features a heavyweight title bout between champ Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva who meet in a rematch from one year ago.
Whittaker, a member of Team Australia, squared off with Team UK fighter Brad Scott in the welterweight finals of the The Smashes show last December, picking up a unanimous decision at UFC on FX 6. The win put Whittaker back into the win column after a loss in his last pro-fight in May of last year, despite winning his way into the shows final.
Smith is an active member of the U.S. Army and earned four straight wins to make it into the finals for season sixteen of the TUF reality series. Smith debuted last December against fellow housemate Canadian Mike Ricci at the TUF 16 Finale, capturing the win by unanimous decision. Like his opponent Whittaker, his last pro-bout was also a loss, suffering a knockout defeat in February 2012.