UFC president, Dana White has confirmed that the promotion are currently hoping to secure a landing pad for the middleweight championship rematch between reigning champion, Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya and former titleholder, Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker at UFC 271 on February 12.
White, as per TSN reporter, Aaron Bronsteter, confirmed that the organization are currently working on matching Adesanya and Whittaker for the second time, with UFC 271 on February 12. earmarked, with hopes to host the event in either Seattle, Washington or in a return to Canada.
“Just spoke to Dana White who tells me that UFC 271, expected to be headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker is being targeted for either Seattle or a major Canadian city on February 12, 2022,” Bronsteter tweeted.
The championship re-run between Adesanya and Whittaker was initially expected to feature on the upcoming UFC 268 card next month at Madison Square Garden, with travel restrictions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic preventing Adesanya’s travel back to New Zealand following the culmination of the event.
The matchup of the champion and the #1 ranked former champion was then tentatively expected to land on UFC 270 on January 22. However, the pairing was delayed for a second time. As a result, a heavyweight championship unification bout between Francis Ngannou and interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane is now slated to take main event status.
As part of a championship doubleheader, a flyweight championship trilogy bout between reigning division best, Brandon Moreno and the #1 ranked former division kingpin, Deiveson Figueiredo is also set to land on the January 20. event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Initially matching back in October 2019, Adesanya, the then-interim middleweight champion successfully unified the titles with a stunning second round knockout over Whittaker.
In his most recent outing, Whittaker took home a one-sided unanimous decision victory over recent UFC Vegas 41 headliner, Marvin Vettori.
For Auckland-born fan favorite, Whittaker, he headlined UFC Vegas 24 in April, besting short-notice opponent and common-foe, Kelvin Gastelum with a unanimous decision win. The victory marked Whittaker’s third consecutively since a knockout loss to Adesanya.
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