UFC 275 targets Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori for top middleweight contender showdown

Two top-ranked middleweights are lined up to fight at UFC 275.

Although not finalized yet, the promotion targets a bout between former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and former title challenger Marvin Vettori for the promotion’s June 11 pay-per-view, which is expected to take place in Singapore.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. However, the people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) looks to rebound from his second career loss to titleholder Israel Adesanya, which took place at UFC 271 in February. Whittaker was on the losing end of a closely-contested unanimous decision in favor of Adesanya. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak, which included victories over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.

Like his UFC 275 opponent, Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) has only suffered two losses, both against Adesanya, in recent years. Five straight wins over the likes of Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland among others were bookended by the losses to Adesanya. Following his title challenge loss at UFC 263 in June 2021, Vettori defeated Paulo Costa via unanimous decision in a five-round light heavyweight bout.

With the addition, the UFC 275 lineup includes:

• Champion Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka – for light heavyweight title
• Champion Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos – for women’s flyweight title
• Marvin Vettori vs. Robert Whittaker
• Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Na Liang