Kelvin Gastelum was expected to challenge Robert Whittaker for the UFC middleweight championship at tonight’s UFC 234 event in Australia.

Unfortunately for fight fans, just hours before the event began UFC President Dana White announced that Robert Whittaker had been forced out of the event headliner with an injury.

Whittaker had been suffering abdominal pains and after being examined by doctors it was discovered that “The Reaper” has suffered a hernia.

Despite short-notice offers from Donald Cerrone and Chael Sonnen, the UFC ultimately decided to pull Kelvin Gastelum from tonight’s UFC 234 lineup.

With that said, tonight’s event is now headlined by a three-round middleweight scrap between former division kingpin Anderson Silva and surging contender Israel Adesanya.

As for Kelvin Gastelum, the top middleweight contender did show up at Rod Laver Arena for tonight’s festivities.

When he did arrive, Gastelum turned heads by sporting one of the promotions fancy new championship belts.

If that wasn’t enough to get you interested, Kelvin Gastelum also proclaimed to reporters that he is the “true UFC middleweight champion”.

“No one handed me nothing I earned this,” stated Gastelum when asked by reporters who gave him the belt backstage at UFC 234. “I earned this right here. I showed up man. I showed up to the fight and made the weight. I showed up to fight. He forfeits. I win. I am the world champion.”

Kelvin Gastelum never revealed where he actually got the belt and if it came from UFC officials. Nonetheless he is now claiming to be the UFC’s middleweight champion of the world.

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