Whittaker Vs. Vettori Targeted For UFC 275

Robert Whittaker is feeling revitalized despite his close decision loss to Israel Adesanya at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 271 in February. According to reports, we won’t have to wait too long to see “The Reaper” back in action.

Per Ariel Helwani, the UFC is zoning in on finalizing a fight for the former Middleweight titleholder against one-time title challenger, Marvin Vettori, at UFC 275 on June 11. The event is expected to take place in Singapore.

“Robert Whittaker x Marvin Vettori at UFC 275 on June 11 isn’t a done deal just yet, but it’s ‘very close,’ I’m told,” Helwani tweeted.

Since moving up from 170-pounds in Nov. 2014, Whittaker has been nearly perfect as a 185-pounder having only suffered losses to the current champion in Adesanya. Prior to his last fight, the Australian had won three straight in impressive fashion against the likes of Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum, and expected next title challenger, Jared Cannonier.

Italy’s Vettori has also fought Adesanya twice with their most recent outing taking place at UFC 263 in June 2021. Unfortunately for Vettori, Adesanya once again bested him to snap a five-fight winning streak that began after first facing Adesanya in Apr. 2018. He has since rebounded with an impromptu 205-pound Light Heavyweight victory over Paulo Costa in October.

UFC 275 is still in its infancy as the Middleweight contenders bout would be just the fourth fight added to the lineup. Sitting atop the card at present are two title fights at Light Heavyweight and Flyweight.

Stay tuned to MMAMania.com for updates on the card in the coming weeks,

• Light Heavyweight – 205lbs: (C)Glover Teixeira vs. Jiří Procházka
• Flyweight – 125lbs: (C)Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos
• Middleweight – 185lbs: Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
• Strawweight – 115lbs: Silvana Gómez Juárez vs. Na Liang