Heading into fight day, UFC 234 was expected to be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. However, Whittaker withdrew the morning of the fight due to a hernia-related issue. The new main event will be what was the co-main event. That fight will see Israel Adesanya take on Anderson Silva. During fight week interviews, UFC president, Dana White, has stated that this will be a number one contender fight. The fight may have been bumped to the main event, however, it will remain a three-round fight.