K. Gastelum (photo) will replace P. Borrachinha in the fight against R. Whittaker. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
After being taken by surprise with the news that Paulo Borrachinha will not be available for the main fight of the April 17th event, the UFC board acted quickly and already has a replacement. Outside, due to a strong cold, the miner will have his place taken by Kelvin Gastelum, who asked for and will be the opponent of Robert whittaker. The information was released by 'ESPN', confirmed by 'Combate' and the North American on their social networks.
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“Once again through the gap, friends. On the mission for gold”, wrote the fighter.
While Borrachinha tried to regain his status as a challenger for the middleweight belt (up to 83,9kg), Gastelum understood the good opportunity to face Robert and offered himself for the confrontation. Former challenger for the category's interim belt, the North American seeks to confirm his good form, after going through a bad moment, with three consecutive setbacks.
With a new rival, Whittaker ended up not receiving the opponent he would have liked. Former category leader, the Australian asked for a new fight against the champion, Israel adesanya, when he discovered that Paulo would not be fit to fight on April 17.
Coming from victory over Ian Heinisch, Kelvin, today, occupies eighth place in the ranking led by Adesanya. A positive result against Whittaker could see the North American take a considerable leap forward in the division, as the Australian is currently number one, behind only the champion.
One of the greats in recent middleweight history, Whittaker will have to prove once again that he has returned to good form in his career. Leader of the category between 2017 and 2019, Robert lost his position in 2019, when he was overtaken by Israel. Afterwards, the Australian scored two consecutive victories, the last in October, when he won the challenge against Darren till.
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