An interim middleweight championship fight between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker has been announced for UFC 213.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news on Twitter.
BREAKING: @danawhite tells me interim middleweight title fight between @YoelRomeroMMA and @RJWhittaker1990 will co-headline UFC 213.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 23, 2017
Romero (13-1) is currently riding an eight fight win streak, with all eight of those wins coming in the UFC. His last loss was a knockout defeat to Rafael Cavalcante at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov in September of 2011. Notable names on his victims list include Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida, and Chris Weidman.
Whittaker (18-4) is amidst a seven fight win streak, and has amassed four stoppages in that time. “The Reaper” is coming off by far the biggest win of his career, as he dismantled ‘Jacare’ Souza at UFC Kansas, picking up a second round TKO. The 26-year-old has five performance bonuses in his UFC career.
UFC 213 takes place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 8, 2017. The card is set to be headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko.
