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What's the story?
Current UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, will be going into his first title defense bout against TUF 28 rival coach, Kelvin Gastelum. During the official UFC 234 staredown event, both fighters were seen staring down one another just two months before the duo will set out to battle for the championship at the Rod Laver Arena on February 9th, at Melbourne, Australia.
In case you didn't know..
Robert Whittaker is a New Zealand born, Australian mixed martial artist who is the reigning middleweight champion for the UFC. After winning the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero at UFC 213, Whittaker not only managed to scale up the rankings but was also pushed to be undisputed champion after Georges St-Pierre's unexpected hiatus from the sport due to an acute case of ulcerative colitis.
Kelvin Gastelum is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter 17. As of July 26th, 2018, Gastelum has officially been ranked the number four spot in the UFC's middleweight rankings. He has had a respectable resume in the sport so far by beating fellow contenders such as Johny Hendricks, Michael Bisping, and Ronaldo Souza, at UFC 224. In July 2018, Gastelum was pitted against Whittaker in the coaching business, when the pair were announced to be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 28. Following this, On November 2nd, 2018, Gastelum was scheduled to fight Whittaker for the middleweight championship belt at UFC 234.
The heart of the matter
The official UFC 234 staredown event featured both Kelvin Gastelum and champion, Robert Whittaker. When asked about performing at home turf on February 9th, this is what Robert Whittaker had to say:
“The last event I had at Rod Laver Arena, it’s not that you couldn’t block out the sound, but you couldn’t block out the feeling. The feeling was in the air. It’s about trying not to let your emotions get away with anything or over commit. It was one of the greatest highlights in my career.”
Kelvin Gastelum also went on to be asked about his championship opportunity against Whittaker, and he said:
“Rob’s a respectable guy. I’m not one of those obnoxious guys that likes to start drama. This has been a long time in the making for me. I’m excited for this opportunity. This is a once in a lifetime and I’m going to make the most of it ... I’m a soldier and I’m going to keep on soldiering through.”
What's next?
The middleweight division seems to be stacked with competition with up and rising star, Israel Adesanya, and the hugely-anticipated return of 'The Spider' Anderson Silva.
Robert Whittaker will be looking to successfully defend his title at UFC 234 in order to focus on the rest of the division. Who do you think will walk out as champion at UFC 234?
Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
