No.1 middleweight contender Robert Whittaker spoke with the media at the UFC Vegas 24 Post-fight Press Conference after defeating no. 8 ranked Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision on Saturday.
For the former middleweight champ, he believes a rematch with reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who defeated him by second round KO in 2019, is next.
The no. 1 contender listed a handful of reasons as to why he should be next for Adesanya.
“There is no other fight. There’s just that fight left. I have defended the number one spot three times against the next big thing,” Whittaker said about no. 4 contender Jared Cannonier. “I took this fight with Gastelum on a month’s notice when Costa pulled out.”
The pivotal middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum is set now that the UFC Vegas 24 weigh-in results are official.
Whittaker, Gastelum, and the rest of the fighters on the UFC Vegas 24 card weighed in Friday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, making their bouts official for Saturday’s event. UFC Vegas 24 (aka UFC on ESPN 22) takes place inside the Apex.
The former UFC middleweight champ, Whittaker is looking to continue building momentum. He lost the belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in 2019. Whittaker has since won back-to-back bouts against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. Adding Gastelum to his hit list would put Whittaker in the perfect position to try and regain the belt.
Kelvin Gastelum hopes to continue his climb back into title contention when he faces former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Vegas 24 on Saturday, April 17.
The bout has been a long time coming. The two were selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter 28 and face each other at 234 in February 2019, but Whittaker was forced out of the bout hours before the event due to an abdominal hernia.
Gastelum steps into the fight at UFC Vegas 24 on short notice, replacing Whittaker’s original opponent, Paulo Costa, who withdrew because of illness.
Prior to Saturday’s headliner, watch Gastelum’s stellar performance against Ian Heinisch, which ended a three-fight skid against some of the top middleweights in the world.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Preview and Predictions
April 13, 2021
For the second consecutive weekend, the UFC’s middleweight division takes center stage. A pair of top-10 ranked fighters square off in the main event of
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum.
Former champion Robert Whittaker bounced back after losing his title in 2019 by going 2-0 in 2020. He picked up decision victories over Darren Till and Jared Cannonier, and he will look to continue his streak into 2021 with his headlining affair against Kelvin Gastelum. Gastelum ended a three-fight skid when he defeated Ian Heinisch earlier in the year. A victory over Whittaker would go a long way toward Gastelum earning another shot against current champion Israel Adesanya after the pair battled in 2019’s “Fight of the Year.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has been slow to jump back into a title fight, having lost the belt to current champion Israel Adesanya near the end of 2019. He has been quietly getting back in the cage, knocking off other top middleweights, sharpening his tools for a potential rematch.
After rebounding from the loss of his belt, Whittaker rebounded with a win over Darren Till and then another dominant victory over Jared Cannonier.
Ahead of Whittaker’s UFC Vegas 24 headlining bout opposite Kelvin Gastelum on April 17, watch his full fight with Cannonier.
Paulo Costa has withdrawn from his UFC Vegas 24 headlining bout opposite Robert Whittaker.
Sources confirmed that Costa withdrew because of a severe bout of the flu, which has compromised his ability to train. AgFight initially reported that the bout was in doubt, but it now appears to be nixed.
The UFC Vegas 24 fight card is currently slated for April 17 in Las Vegas. It should be noted, however, that UFC 261 also is approved for Las Vegas, though UFC president Dana White on Monday announced that the pay-per-view event would take place to a packed house of fans at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.