Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori targeted now for potential UFC event in Paris

Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori might get to fight this year after all.

The middleweight contenders both agreed on social media that they are aiming to fight one another at a Sept. 3 UFC event that is being discussed for Paris.

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with a source that while the fighters are interested, a formal offer has not been sent out by the UFC.

Whittaker (23-6) and Vettori (18-4-1) were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 275 on June 11, but Whittaker announced in April that he would not be able to compete on that date due to injury. Vettori immediately called for bouts with Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev, but neither matchup materialized.

This will be Whittaker’s first fight since losing a rematch to Israel Adesanya in the middleweight championship main event of UFC 271 in February. Prior to that loss, Whittaker had scored consecutive wins over Kelvin Gastelum, Jared Cannonier, and Till to earn his second shot at Adesanya. Outside of the losses to Adesanya, Whittaker has won 12 of his past 14 fights.

Vettori is coming off of a five-round unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa in October that took place at 205 pounds. “The Italian Dream” is also a past title challenger, having lost a unanimous decision in a rematch with Adesanya at UFC 263 last June. Vettori’s UFC record sits at 8-3-1.