The middleweight division is about to get a shakeup as Yoel Romero is set to take on Robert Whittaker for a new interim middleweight title at UFC 213.
With current champion Michael Bisping currently dealing with an injury—plus the fact his original opponent, Georges St-Pierre, will not be ready to compete until after October—UFC president Dana White decided to introduce an interim 185-pound belt.
Romero is the No. 1-ranked contender and 8-0 in the Octagon with wins over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Tim Kennedy plus former UFC champs Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman. Whittaker, meanwhile, is ranked third and unbeaten in the division. His winning streak sits at seven straight and became the first person to finish Souza in more than eight years when he TKO’d him in April.
The bout will serve as co-main event for the July 8 fight card.
Here is what the UFC 213 lineup tentatively looks like:
— Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko
— Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker
— Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone
— Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem
— Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller
— Travis Browne vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk
— Daniel Omielańczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes
— Thiago Santos vs. Gerald Meerschaert
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