Just hours before UFC 234 is set to begin, the main event has been canceled.
According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN citing Dana White, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has had to withdraw from his scheduled title fight against Kelvin Gastelum due to injury.
Robert Whittaker is out of the scheduled bout due to a hernia found in his abdomen. The champion complained about pain in his abdomen area and was taken to the hospital where they found a hernia. It has also been included from White that Whittaker will be undergoing the surgery for his hernia today.
With the injury news forcing a change to the main card, the co-main event of Israel Adesanya vs Anderson Silva will be moved up to the main event. White has said that the fight between Adesanya and Silva will be a title eliminator in the middleweight division.
The shuffling of the fight card will also see Lando Vannata taking on Marco Rosa Mariano bumped into the co-main event slot.
This is the second consecutive time that Robert Whittaker had attempted to headline a UFC PPV card in his home country of Australia, as he had to withdraw from UFC 221 due to injury as well. Whittaker most recently defended his title in a rematch against Yoel Romero at UFC 225 where he won the fight in a split decision.
Here is the full lineup change to the UFC 234 PPV card:
UFC 234 Main Card (on PPV at 10:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM PST)
- Middleweight – 185lbs: Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva
- Lightweight – 155lbs: Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Mariano
- Bantamweight – 135lbs: Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon
- Flyweight – 125lbs: Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem
- Light Heavyweight – 205lbs: Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey
UFC 234 Prelims (on ESPN at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST)
- Lightweight: Devonte Smith vs. Dong Hyun Ma
- Featherweight – 145lbs: Shane Young vs. Austin Arnett
- Flyweight: Kai Kara-France vs. Raulian Paiva
- Bantamweight: Teruto Ishihara vs. Kyung Ho Kang
UFC 234 Early Prelims (on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST)
- Lightweight: Callan Potter vs. Jalin Turner
- Bantamweight: Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/9/2019