What was slated to be a homecoming for Whittaker at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia, has now been shelved. The middleweight champion suffered an undisclosed injury and his originally scheduled opponent Luke Rockhold will now fight Yoel Romero for an interim belt in the main event on Feb. 11.
The news was first reported by ESPN and later confirmed by UFC’s Australia/New Zealand Twitter account who shared an article from The West Australian concerning Whittaker’s status.
“I’m beyond disappointed that I’m unable to defend the title in my home country of Australia,” Whittaker said in a statement provided to both outlets.