Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya poses as he fights Brazil’s Anderson Silva in their middleweight bout at the UFC 234 event in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

By Rafael Bandayrel

With Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker out after surgery, UFC President Dana White announced that Israel Adesanya (16-0) will take on Kelvin Gastelum (15-3) for the interim title at UFC 236 on April 13, per EPSN’s Brett Okamoto.

Whittaker was supposed to defend the 180-pound title against Gastelum at UFC 234, but had to pull out on the day of the event due to a collapsed bowel and an abdominal hernia.

As a result, Adesanya’s fight with former champion Anderson Silva was bumped up from the co-main event to the headliner of the show. The Nigerian-born sensation kept his record unblemished with a unanimous decision win over Silva.

Meanwhile, Gastelum had declared himself the middleweight champion by default. He sat in the crowd of the event in Australia holding a UFC title belt.

Gastelum, who won season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, hasn’t fought since defeating Jacare Souza by split decision in May 2018.

Tags: Anderson Silva , Israel Adesanya , Kelvin Gastelum , Robert Whittaker , UFC