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Legend's stunning 'offer' to replace Whittaker at UFC 234

Fight fans have been left in a spin after one of the UFC’s most iconic fighter’s sensationally offered to replace Robert Whittaker at UFC 234.

The Australian UFC middleweight champion has been forced to abandon his title defence in Melbourne due to a severe abdominal injury requiring emergency surgery.

The Aussie had hoped a raucous home crowd in Melbourne would help him keep his world title against former bounty hunter American Kelvin Gastelum in the Octagon on Sunday.

However plans for Whittaker’s first official title defence were thrown into disarray late on Saturday night when the 29-year-old complained of abdominal pain before being diagnosed with a hernia in hospital.

Whittaker’s withdrawal has rocked UFC 234. Pic: Getty
Whittaker’s withdrawal has rocked UFC 234. Pic: Getty

His withdrawal was made official on Sunday morning.

The three-round middleweight match between rising New Zealand sensation Israel Adesanya (15-0) and Brazilian legend Anderson Silva (34-8, 1nc) will now serve as the main event.

Seizing on the opportunity to fill the massive void left by Whittaker’s absence, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone posted a cheeky message to UFC president Dana White, suggested he could step in for the luckless Aussie fighter.

The UFC said full refunds would be given to fans if they wanted.

“Due to change in the main event, customers may request a full refund of their purchased tickets at the point of sale,” a statement from the promotion read.

Many fans have indicated that they would reconsider seeking a refund if Cerrone was added to the bill.

The odds of Cerrone’s tongue-in-cheek offer coming to fruition are extremely unlikely, however, the post left fight fans in a frenzy on social media.

White all but squashed any chance of Cerrone actually being drafted in at the last minute, with a playful response to the offer.

“He’s absolutely NUTS and I love it!!!” Dana White said about Cerrone.

“Gonna be a sad day when he retires @cowboycerrone.”

Cerrone’s ‘offer’ comes after White confirmed that advanced talks were in place for the American to fight Conor McGregor in a blockbuster showdown.

Cerrone’s offer to fill the void left by Whittaker has caused a frenzy on social media. Pic: Getty
Cerrone’s offer to fill the void left by Whittaker has caused a frenzy on social media. Pic: Getty

McGregor is serving a six-month suspension levied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his role in a brawl after his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October.

The ban ends in April and McGregor could be set for a return by as early as June, with White wanting to make the speculated matchup against Cerrone a reality.

“Those two want to fight each other, they’ve both earned it,” White told MMAjunkie following a UFC 234 media conference in Australia.

“Cowboy’s fought anybody we’ve ever put against him. We throw this young killer [Alexander] Hernandez at him, Cowboy’s the underdog and he goes in and does it the way he did it, then Conor’s fought everybody.

“If these two want to fight, I’m down.”

American fighter Cerrone has a 35-11 MMA record and 22-8 in UFC, while Irishman McGregor is 22-4.

With agencies