A big middleweight fight is on deck for UFC 275 in June.
Roughly a month after an unsuccessful bid to win back the UFC middleweight title, Robert Whittaker already has his next fight lined up.
Following an initial report from Ariel Helwani, MMA Fighting confirmed that Whittaker is expected to face former title challenger Marvin Vettori at UFC 275 on June 11th. No location has been confirmed but Singapore looks to be the place.
Whittaker (23-6) lost a close decision in his rematch vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 271 in Houston. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak that consisted of decisions over Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum, and presumptive next title challenger Jared Cannonier. At the height of his success he won the interim title in his first meeting with Yoel Romero in 2017, then was elevated to full champ after Georges St-Pierre gave up the undisputed title and retired again.
Vettori (18-5-1) challenged Adesanya at UFC 263 last year, also losing a unanimous decision to put an end to his five-fight winning streak. ‘The Italian Dream’ most recently headlined a Fight Night card and won an entertaining five-round decision over Paulo Costa in what was a light heavyweight bout due to Costa’s weight cutting issues. Vettori’s only other UFC losses were a three-round split decision in his first fight vs. Adesanya, plus a decision to Antonio Carlos Junior in his second appearance inside the Octagon.
UFC 275 will feature light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira and challenger Jiri Prochazka in the main event. Women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is scheduled to fight Taila Santos in the co-headliner.