Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker out of UFC 234

By Adam Hill

Las Vegas Review-Journal

6 years ago

Robert Whittaker, right, is announced the winner by unanimous decision against Yoel Romero in the UFC 213 interim middleweight title bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Saturday, July 8, 2017. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will not be able to defend his belt in the main event of UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday night.

Whittaker was hospitalized due to a hernia and his headlining bout against Kelvin Gastelum has been removed from the card.

Sources close to the organization confirmed the news first reported by ESPN on Saturday morning.

Whittaker is expected to undergo a medical procedure today to correct the issue.

A middleweight bout between rising star Israel Adesanya and former champ Anderson Silva will now serve as the main event with a lightweight bout between Lando Vannata and Marcos Rosa Mariano added to the pay-per-view card.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.