A UFC middleweight showdown between former champion Robert Whittaker and former title challenger Marvin Vettori is in the works.
MMA Fighting was the first to report the news of the targeted booking for UFC 275 on June 11.
Whittaker hinted at a quick turnaround during a recent interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. He also recently teased a fight with Vettori as the fight to make, and it appears that the matchup will come to fruition.
Whittaker most recently fell to UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 271. It was a competitive fight from start to finish, but Adesanya earned the unanimous decision victory in their title rematch.
Whittaker had worked his way back to the title shot after getting knocked out by Adesanya at UFC 243. He earned dominant wins over Kelvin Gastelum, Jared Cannonier, and Darren Till before getting the second fight with Adesanya.
Vettori is one of the few top UFC middleweights who Whittaker hasn’t fought to date.
Vettori rebounded from a loss to Adesanya at UFC 263 with a win over Paulo Costa last October. The fight was originally supposed to take place at middleweight but took place at light heavyweight after Costa showed up on fight week overweight.
Before the loss to Adesanya, Vettori earned one-sided wins over the likes of Kevin Holland and Jack Hermansson.
Along with Whittaker vs. Vettori, Adesanya is expected to defend his title later this year against top contender Jared Cannonier. Sean Strickland is also closing in on a title shot after beating Hermansson earlier this year to make it six straight wins.
Whittaker and Vettori are both vying for another shot at Adesanya and a fight between them would certainly make sense. UFC 275 is set to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Glover Teixeira and Jiří Procházka.
What is your prediction for the planned Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori fight?
