Romero-Whittaker to square off for interim title at UFC 213

Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will fight for the interim middleweight title in the co-main event at UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas, the UFC announced on Tuesday.

The fight replaces a bantamweight title fight between T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt, and joins a women's bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko on the main card.

The bout will be an interim title fight due to current champion Michael Bisping's knee injury. Romero had been calling for a fight with Bisping for months, but recently said he's not going to wait around for the British fighter.

Romero (12-1) has won his last eight fights, including four straight wins over top-10 contenders. The 40-year-old Cuban most recently knocked out Chris Weidman with a flying knee at UFC 205 in November.

Whittaker (18-4) is on a winning streak of his own, coming away victorious in his last seven bouts and earning performance of the night in his two most recent fights. The 26-year-old's last win came via TKO against Ronaldo Souza in April during a UFC on Fox event.