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Credit: UFC

Robert Whittaker made history at last night’s UFC 213 as he became the first Australian to win UFC gold, putting in a tough and resilient performance, to take the unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero and claim the Interim Middleweight Title.

UFC 213 took place on Saturday, July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and was due to feature a Women’s Bantamweight championship main event between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. Unfortunately hours before the event, champion Nunes was ruled out due to injury and the bout was cancelled, leaving the Interim Middleweight title clash to close the show.

Despite losing the first two rounds and having his knee injured by a hard kick from Romero, Whittaker fought back over the tiring Cuban and would display some of the best takedown defence seen in the UFC on his way to winning the final three rounds. Marching forward and landing the heavier shots in the latter half of the fight, this was a coming out performance for Whittaker.

The Australian will now face Middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who is currently sidelined by injury, but showed up in the Octagon after the fight for some of his typical shenanigans. The Brit told Whittaker he was “disgusted” seeing him wear the interim belt and threw the proper middleweight title at his feet while he struggled to hide his delight at his long-time rival Romero falling short at the last hurdle.

Overeem back in title contention after win over former champ Werdum

Alistair Overeem put himself back into the Heavyweight title picture with a razor-thin majority decision win over former champion Fabricio Werdum, although in truth, there was very little between the two veterans to choose from. This was the third contest between the pair with both holding a win a piece prior to this bout after meeting under the Strikeforce and PRIDE banners.

After a tentative opening round, where both fighters did very little, Overeem started to take over during the second frame with his superior striking however the margins were still extremely narrow going into the final round. It was the third round that saw Werdum come to life as he dominated his Dutch opponent on the feet and on the mat, spending large amounts of time on top and utilising hard ground and pound until the finish.

Overeem would take a majority decision win after being judged to have won the first two rounds however the fight once again brings the ‘ten-point must’ scoring system into question as Werdum did far more damage in the third round than his opponent achieved in the previous ten minutes.

Also on the main card, former Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis got a desperately needed win over grizzled veteran Jim Miller on his return to the 155lb division. “Showtime” had tasted victory only once in his previous five bouts but put on a dominant performance on both the ground and feet to take all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards.

UFC 213 Results

Interim Middleweight Title Bout: Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero via Decision (Unanimous) (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Heavyweight Bout: Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via Decision (Majority) (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Heavyweight Bout: Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielanczuk via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lightweight Bout: Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bantamweight Bout: Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via Submission (Guillotine) (Round 2 – 4:36)

Heavyweight Bout: Alexsei Oleinik def. Travis Browne via Submission (Rear-naked choke) (Round 2 – 3:44)

Welterweight Bout: Chad Laprise def. Brian Camozzi via TKO (Body Shot and Punches) (Round 3 – 1:27)

Middleweight Bout: Thiago Santos def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO (Punches) (Round 2 – 2:04)

Welterweight Bout: Belal Muhammad def. Jordan Mein via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Featherweight Bout: Cody Stamann def. Terrion Ware via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Light-Heavyweight Bout: Trevin Giles def. James Bochnovic via TKO (Punches) (Round 2 – 2:54)