UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Preview

Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on Kelvin Gastelum in the headline fight of this event. Whittaker was initially supposed to face Paulo Costa, but Costa bowed out of the fight after a severe illness left him unable to train for an extended period last month. Whittaker and Gastelum were supposed to square off at UFC 234 before Whittaker had to pull out the day of the fight due to a hernia that required emergency surgery, so fans are excited to see these two middleweights finally face off in the Octagon.

UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum will take place at the UFC Apex training center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire card will be broadcast on ESPN with the prelims starting at 6 p.m. ET and the main card kicking off at 9 p.m. ET.

UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Betting Odds

Robert Whittaker -265

Kelvin Gastelum +225

Whittaker has been one of the best middleweights in the UFC over the last seven years. Since losing by first-round TKO to Stephen Thompson at UFC 170, he has won 11 of his last 12 fights. He won Performance of the Night bonuses with wins over Brad Tavares, Derek Brunson, and Ronaldo Souza before claiming the middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero at UFC 213.

We saw Whittaker successfully defend the title against Romero at UFC 225 before losing the belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in October 2019. He has been looking to win that belt back with wins over Darren Till and Jared Cannonier over the last nine months, and he is a substantial favorite against Gastelum.

It’s been a rocky road for Gastelum. He started his MMA career with 10 straight wins, but he lost three straight bouts prior to a comfortable unanimous decision win over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 two months ago. His quick submission defeat at the hands of Jack Hermansson last July set off alarm bells, so he knows he needs a win against a name opponent.

Jeremy Stephens -127

Drakkar Klose +107

It’s been a rough last couple years for Jeremy Stephens. He hasn’t won a fight since a second-round knockout of Josh Emmett back in February 2018. Since that win, he has four losses and a no contest, and he was over the weight limit in his loss to Calvin Kattar at UFC 249 in Jacksonville last May.

That makes Drakkar Klose a tempting pick as a short underdog. Klose lost his last bout at UFC 248, but he is 11-2-1 in his MMA career. However, he hasn’t faced nearly the same level of competition that Stephens has over the course of his long professional career.

Andrei Arlovski -115

Chase Sherman -105

Arlovski has been a gate keeper in the heavyweight division for the last decade. He held the UFC heavyweight title for a little over a year from early 2005 to April 2006, but he has yet to have anywhere near that same success. At the age of 42, Arlovski doesn’t have many fights left in him, but this would be a huge victory for Chase Sherman.

This is Sherman’s second fight since returning to the UFC. He beat Isaac Villanueva by second-round TKO last May, but he lost three straight bouts in the promotion prior to that win. Sherman was originally supposed to face Parker Porter on Saturday, before Porter was replaced by Arlovski.

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