UFC 234: WHITTAKER vs. GASTELUM 10 February 2019 | Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC MAIN CARD Pay-Per-View, 10 p.m. ET Robert Whittaker (c) vs. Kelvin Gastelum Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem Jimmy Crute vs. Sam Alvey PRELIMINARY CARD ESPN, 8 p.m. ET Devonte Smith vs. Dong Hyun Ma Shane Young vs. Austin Arnett Kai Kara-France vs. Raulian Paiva Teruto Ishihara vs. Kyung Ho Kang EARLY PRELIMS UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Rosa Jalin Turner vs. Callan Potter Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Champ Robert Whittaker (185) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (184) – for middleweight title Israel Adesanya (185) vs. Anderson Silva (186) Ricky Simon (135) vs. Rani Yahya (135) Montana De La Rosa () vs. Nadia Kassem (124) Sam Alvey (205) vs. Jim Crute (206) PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim (156) vs. Devonte Smith (156) Austin Arnett (145) vs. Shane Young (145) Kai Kara-France (125) vs. Raulian Paiva (125) Teruto Ishihara (136) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (136) PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET) Marcos Mariano (155) vs. Lando Vannata (156) Callan Potter (156) vs. Jalin Turner (155) Wuliji Buren (136) vs. Jonathan Martinez (136)
The MW fight between Adesanya and Silva is being called an eliminator. The UFC is hoping for a Whittaker/Adesanya title fight in a stadium in Auckland, I bet.
UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittakerwas forced to undergo “emergency surgery” in the immediate aftermath of his sudden withdrawal from the UFC 234 main event. Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) came down with a “severe abdominal injury,” according to UFC officials, and was deemed unable to compete in tonight’s title-fight headliner against Kelvin Gastelum (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC). The champ was pushed into surgery shortly thereafter. How does this happen? Just a freak thing?
Results Israel Adesanya def. Anderson Silva via unanimous decision Lando Vannata def. Marcos Mariano via submission (kimura) - Round 1, 4:55 Ricky Simon def. Rani Yahya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25) Montana De La Rosa def. Nadia Kassem via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 2:37 Jim Crute def. Sam Alvey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:49 Devonte Smith def. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53 Shane Young def. Austin Arnett via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Kai Kara-France def. Raulian Paiva via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Kyung Ho Kang def. Teruto Ishihara via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:59 Jalin Turner def. Callan Potter via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:53 Jonathan Martinez def. Wuliji Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)