UFC fighter out

AUSTRALIA’S UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker withdrew from his title defence against Kelvin Gastelum yesterday at UFC 234 in Melbourne with an abdominal injury and subsequent emergency surgery. UFC president Dana White said Whittaker, who has a record of 20-4, became ill on Saturday night and complained of pain in his abdomen before being diagnosed in hospital with a hernia. In a later statement, UFC said Whittaker had surgery because of a “severe abdominal injury”.