In late February, Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Robert Whittaker announced that he would be representing Australia in wrestling as part of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, pending approval from the UFC.
It seems the UFC didn’t like the idea of Whittaker competing, even though he would be able to get in a full fight camp -- just less than two months -- to prepare for the fight following the games.
Whittaker’s decision to accept the fight against Yoel Romero and defend his middleweight title at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago ultimately sealed his fate and was the main reason the UFC put a stop to him participating.