Robert Whittaker Books LHW Debut For UFC 329 This July

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 26: Robert Whittaker of New Zealand prepares to face Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on July 26, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will make his official move to light heavyweight at UFC 329 on July 11 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as “Reaper” leaves 185 pounds behind to test his luck against veteran contender Nikita Krylov.

This is according to an initial report by Russian MMA outlet, Vestnik MMA. Check it out below:

Whittaker, 35, has been around for a long, long time. The popular New Zealand fighter first competed in UFC’s welterweight division from 2012-2014 before making a move to middleweight. From there, Whittaker racked off an impressive 14-5 record, which includes a win over Yoel Romero at UFC 213 to claim interim UFC gold (he was later promoted to undisputed champion). Whittaker is coming off back-to-back losses to Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder, though, so a change in scenery could be nice for “Reaper.”

Krylov, 34, has has a rough go since returning to competition in 2025 following a two-year hiatus from the sport. After dropping consecutive knockouts losses to Dominick Reyes and Bogdan Guskov the veteran light heavyweight did score a finish over Modestas Bukauskas his last time out at UFC 324 this past January. That’s a good win to stop the bleeding, but Krylov is far from the contender he once was at 205 pounds. That could all change with a marquee win over a former champion like Whittaker.