UFC 234 is just a couple months away and will have some very exciting fights scheduled to go down that night in Australia. As the event draws closer the UFC has released the official poster for the pay-per-view event.
https://twitter.com/UFC_AUSNZ/status/1069833707488509953
As of now, there are only two bouts confirmed for the event but they will be at the top of the main card. In the main event, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will look to defend his title against The Ultimate Fighter season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum.
The other fight scheduled for 234 will see former middleweight king Andreson Silva take on rising contender Israel Adesanya.
The champion Whittaker will be returning from surgery on his hand in an injury suffered during his five-round rematch against Yoel Romero at UFC 225.
Whittaker defeated Romero by split decision in June and defended it for the first time (unofficially) since becoming champion. Whittaker became the interim champion in his first fight against Romero at UFC 213 where he also picked up a decision victory and it was after Georges St-Pierre vacated the title after winning it at UFC 217 that Whittaker was awarded the official belt.
Since jumping up from welterweight, Kelvin Gastelum has gone 2-1 as a middleweight and found himself in the title picture when other contenders weren’t available for Whittaker. Gastelum is currently riding a two-fight win streak with his wins coming against former champion Michael Bisping and most recently Jacare Souza at UFC 224. Following his win over Souza, Gastelum was picked to be the opposing coach opposite of Whittaker during The Ultimate Fighter Season 28: Heavy Hitters.
After refusing to serve as an alternate to the main event, rising contender Israel Adesanya will welcome back former middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 234. “The Last Stylebender” is 15-0 in his professional career (4-0 UFC) and is coming off a first-round TKO win over Derek Brunson at UFC 230.
In previewing this fight, Adesanya says that he knows Silva better than he knows himself, and is speaking very confidently headed into the matchup.
Silva will be returning from a one-year suspension from USADA after he failed a drug test before his fight against Kelvin Gastelum in 2017. Like his upcoming opponent, “The Spider” is also coming off a win against Derek Brunson which he got by unanimous decision at UFC 208.
UFC 234 will take place on February 10, 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia with tickets going on sale Friday, December 7, 2018.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/3/2018