Whittaker vs. Romero 2 booked for UFC 225

Yoel Romero was right.

After revealing he expected to challenge middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a rematch at UFC 225, the promotion confirmed the upcoming bout Wednesday.

Whittaker and Romero first met for an interim crown in July at UFC 213, where the former bested the latter by unanimous decision. The Aussie was promoted to undisputed champion in late 2017 and was expected to make his first title defense against Luke Rockhold in February at UFC 221, only to pull out a month prior with a variety of afflictions. Romero was tapped to fill in for the champ and ultimately knocked Rockhold out in the third round, earning another shot at Whittaker despite coming in heavy at the event's weigh-ins.

Now fully recovered, the 27-year-old Whittaker heads to the Windy City on an eight-fight win streak, with seven of those victories coming at 185 pounds. Romero has only fallen to the reigning champ in 10 walks to the Octagon, and dispatched six of his nine UFC conquests by third-round knockout.