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UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Full Card Preview

At long last, Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum will finally meet in an Octagon. After a fizzled fight several years back, the middleweights will cap an action-packed 12-fight UFC on ESPN 22 card on Saturday, April 17, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the co-main event, exciting lightweights Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose face with Andrei Arlovski stepping in on short notice to fight Chase Sherman in a heavyweight battle on the main card. Rounding out the main card, which starts at 10 p.m. ET are middleweights Abdul Razak Alhassan and Jacob Malkoun and lightweights Luis Pena and Alex Munoz.

The curtain-jerker, scheduled to open the preliminaries at 7 p.m. ET is Tony Gravely vs. Anthony Birchak. Fight Night Picks’ John Hyon Ko spoke with Gravely earlier this month.

Check back in for Question Mark Kicks on Youtube, scheduled to begin two hours before the prelims start on Saturday.

Bantamweight

Tony Gravely (-320)

Record: 20-6 (1-1 UFC) | Age: 29
Height: 5-5 | Reach: 69″
Wins: 8 KO, 3 SUB | Losses: 5 SUB
Recent fights: def. Geraldo de Freitas (split dec.); L to Brett Johns (R3 RNC); def. Ray Rodriguez (R3 TKO)

Anthony Birchak (+248)

Record: 15-7 (2-3 UFC) | Age: 34
Height: 5-8 | Reach: 70″
Wins: 5 KO, 7 SUB | Losses: 1 KO, 3 SUB
Recent fights: L to Gustavo Lopez (R1 RNC); def. Erik Radleim (R1 RNC); def. Raphael Montini de Lima (R1 RNC)

Women’s Bantamweight

Zarah Fairn (+106)

Record: 6-4 (0-2 UFC) | Age: 34
Height: 5-8 | Reach: 73″
Wins: 4 KO | Losses: 1 KO, 1 SUB
Recent fights: L to Felicia Spencer (R1 TKO); L to Megan Anderson (R1 triangle); def. Izabela Badurek (R1 TKO)

Josiane Nunes (-130)

Record: 7-1 (UFC debut) | Age: 27
Height: 5-2 | Reach: 67″
Wins: 6 KO | Losses: 1 DEC
Recent fights: def. Quezia Zbonik (R2 TKO); def. Dione Barbosa (R2 TKO); def. Juliana Araujo (R2 TKO)

Lightweight

Austin Hubbard (-176)

Record: 12-5 (2-3 UFC) | Age: 29
Height: 5-10 | Reach: 71″
Wins: 4 KO, 3 SUB | Losses: 2 SUB
Recent fights: L to Joe Solecki (R1 RNC); def. Max Rohskopf (R2 retirement); L to Mark O. Madsen (un. dec.)

Dakota Bush (+147)

Record: 8-2 (UFC debut) | Age: 26
Height: 5-10 | Reach: 73″
Wins: 2 KO, 4 SUB | Losses: 2 DEC
Recent fights: def. Austin Clem (R1 TKO); def. Brian Del Rosario (R1 RNC); L to Jaleel Willis (un. dec.)

Middleweight

Gerald Meerschaert (+109)

Record: 31-14 (6-6 UFC) | Age: 33
Height: 6-1 | Reach: 77.5″
Wins: 6 KO, 23 SUB | Losses: 3 KO, 8 SUB
Recent fights: L to Khamzat Chimaev (R1 KO); L to Ian Heinisch (R1 TKO); def. Deron Winn (R3 RNC)

Bartosz Fabinski (-134)

Record: 15-4 (4-2 UFC) | Age: 34
Height: 6-0 | Reach: 75″
Wins: 8 KO | Losses: 3 SUB
Recent fights: L to Andre Muniz (R1 armbar); def. Darren Stewart (un. dec.); L to Michel Prazeres (R1 guillotine)

Women’s Strawweight

Jessica Penne (+230)

Record: 12-5 (1-3 UFC) | Age: 38
Height: 5-5 | Reach: 67″
Wins: 2 KO, 7 SUB | Losses: 2 KO, 1 SUB
Recent fights: L to Danielle Taylor (un. dec.); L to Jessica Andrade (R2 TKO); L to Joanna Jedrzejczyk (R3 TKO)

Lupita Godinez (-292)

Record: 5-0 (UFC debut) | Age: 27
Height: 5-2 | Reach: 63″
Wins: 1 SUB | Losses: n/a
Recent fights: def. Vanessa Demopoulos (maj. dec.); def. Lindsay Garbatt (un. dec.); def. Felisha Magallan (un. dec.)

Heavyweight

Alexander Romanov (-142)

Record: 13-0 (2-0 UFC) | Age: 30
Height: 6-2 | Reach: 75″
Wins: 4 KO, 9 SUB | Losses: n/a
Recent fights: def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (R1 forearm choke); def. Roque Martinez (R2 triangle); def. Sergio Freitas (R1 TKO)

Juan Espino (+117)

Record: 10-1 (2-0 UFC) | Age: 40
Height: 6-3 | Reach: 80″
Wins: 1 KO, 7 SUB | Losses: 1 KO
Recent fights: def. Jeff Hughes (R1 scarf hold); def. Justin Frazier (R1 armlock); def. Martin Buday (un. dec.)

Women’s Flyweight

Tracy Cortez (-263)

Record: 8-1 (2-0 UFC) | Age: 27
Height: 5-5 | Reach: 67″
Wins: 1 KO, 1 SUB | Losses: 1 SUB
Recent fights: def. Stephanie Egger (un. dec.); def. Vanessa Melo (un. dec.); def. Mariya Agapova (un. dec.)

Justine Kish (+210)

Record: 7-3 (3-3 UFC) | Age: 33
Height: 5-5 | Reach: 65″
Wins: 2 SUB | Losses: 1 SUB
Recent fights: L to Sabina Mazo (R3 RNC); def. Lucie Pudilova (un. dec.); L to Ji Yeon Kim (split dec.)

Lightweight

Luis Pena (-148)

Record: 8-3 (4-3 UFC) | Age: 27
Height: 6-3 | Reach: 75″
Wins: 2 KO, 4 SUB | Losses: 1 SUB
Recent fights: L to Khama Worthy (R3 guillotine); def. Steve Garcia (un. dec.); L to Matt Frevola (split dec.)

Alex Munoz (+122)

Record: 6-1 (0-1 UFC) | Age: 31
Height: 5-9 | Reach: 69″
Wins: 2 KO, 1 SUB | Losses: 1 DEC
Recent fights: L to Nasrat Haqparast (un. dec.); def. Troy Lamson (un. dec.); def. Nick Newell (un. dec.)

Middleweight

Abdul Razak Alhassan (-302)

Record: 10-3 (4-3 UFC) | Age: 35
Height: 5-10 | Reach: 73″
Wins: 10 KO | Losses: 1 KO
Recent fights: L to Khaos Williams (R1 KO); L to Mounir Lazzez (un. dec.); def. Niko Price (R1 TKO)

Jacob Malkoun (+238)

Record: 4-1 (0-1 UFC) | Age: 25
Height: 5-9 | Reach: 73″
Wins: 2 KO | Losses: 1 KO
Recent fights: L to Phil Hawes (R1 TKO); def. Sebastian Temesi (un. dec.); def. Christophe Van Dijk (R2 TKO)

Heavyweight

Andrei Arlovski (-137)

Record: 30-20, 2 NC (20-14, 1 NC UFC) | Age: 42
Height: 6-3 | Reach: 77″
Wins: 17 KO, 3 SUB | Losses: 11 KO, 2 SUB
Recent fights: L to Tom Aspinall (R2 RNC); def. Tanner Boser (un. dec.); def. Philipe Lins (un. dec.)

Chase Sherman (+113)

Record: 15-6 (3-5 UFC) | Age: 31
Height: 6-4 | Reach: 78″
Wins: 14 KO | Losses: 4 KO
Recent fights: def. Ike Villanueva (R2 TKO); def. Rashaun Jackson (R1 TKO); def. Jeremy May (R1 TKO)

Lightweight

Drakkar Klose (+103)

Record: 11-2-1 (5-2 UFC) | Age: 33
Height: 5-9 | Reach: 70″
Wins: 4 KO | Losses: 1 KO
Recent fights: L to Beneil Dariush (R2 KO); def. Christos Giagos (un. dec.); def. Bobby Green (un. dec.)

Jeremy Stephens (-126)

Record: 28-18, 1 NC (15-17 UFC) | Age: 34
Height: 5-9 | Reach: 71″
Wins: 18 KO, 3 SUB | Losses: 3 KO, 3 SUB
Recent fights: L to Calvin Kattar (R2 TKO); L to Yair Rodriguez (un. dec.); NC with Yair Rodriguez (eye gouge)

Middleweight

Robert Whittaker (-264)

Record: 22-5 (14-3 UFC) | Age: 30
Height: 6-0 | Reach: 73.5″
Wins: 9 KO, 5 SUB | Losses: 2 KO, 1 SUB
Recent fights: def. Jared Cannonier (un. dec.); def. Darren Till (un. dec.); L to Israel Adesanya (R2 KO)

Kelvin Gastelum (+211)

Record: 17-6, 1 NC (11-6, 1 NC UFC) | Age: 29
Height: 5-9 | Reach: 71.5″
Wins: 5 KO, 5 SUB | Losses: 2 SUB
Recent fights: def. Ian Heinisch (un. dec.); L to Jack Hermansson (R1 heel hook); L to Darren Till (split dec.)

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