Robert Whittaker hasn’t had much luck since he beat Yoel Romero to win the interim middleweight title last year at UFC 213.
Although Whittaker was promoted to official champion after Georges St-Pierre relinquished the belt, ‘The Reaper’ has been forced to sit on the sidelines due a series of injuries.
The 27-year-old talent was expected to defend his title against former champ Luke Rockhold at next week’s UFC 221 pay-per-view but was forced to pull out of the main event due to a serious infection and a bout of chickenpox.