Kiwi Israel Adesanya has locked in a UFC middleweight title defence against Australian archrival Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, scheduled for February 13 (NZ time) at Houston.
After dismissing his closest challengers, Adesanya has returned to the opponent he knocked out in October 2019 to claim the division crown - the last man left standing, after dispatching American Kevin Gastelum by unanimous decision in April.
Adesanya's most recent fight saw him account for Italian Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision in June, after suffering his first UFC defeat to light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowitz.
The pair will headline a card that also features Adesanya's City Kickboxing teammate Carlos Ulberg, taking on American Fabio 'Water Buffalo' Cherant in a light-heavyweight contest.
A part-time model, Ulberg tired badly and was knocked out by Nigerian Kennedy Nzechukwu in his UFC debut in March.
