Robert Whittaker in surgery with hernia issue, out of UFC 234 main event bout with Kelvin Gastelum

UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2019 has taken a major hit.

Robert Whittaker has been withdrawn from his first-ever title defense on home soil after experiencing a hernia in his abdomen late last night. Brett Okamoto of ESPN first reported the news and shared that the scheduled co-main event between Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya will now be bumped up to the main event slot.

Whittaker’s opponent, Kelvin Gastelum will not be fighting on the card. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, spoke with ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani on ESPN Radio and shared that the UFC will take care of Gastelum, despite his fight falling out.

Since the news got out, we’ve since received further details surrounding the hernia issues that Whittaker is currently experiencing. A report by Helwani explains that “he started getting abdominal cramps and bloating late last night. Then vomiting started at about 10pm. He was taken to hospital at about 2am and has had a series of tests and scans and is now in surgery.”

Aaron Bronsteter has confirmed that the main event bout between Silva and Adesanya is a three-round fight. There will be no title on the line.

Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Rosa has been upgraded to the co-main event.

Here’s how the card stands:

UFC 234 Main Card