Robert Whittaker to face Bogdan Guskov in UFC Sydney co-main event

Robert Whittaker will fight Bogdan Guskov in the light heavyweight co-main event of UFC Sydney, the UFC announced on Sunday, Nov. 1. The fight is at Afterpay Arena on Sunday, Feb. 7, Sydney time, which is Saturday, Feb. 6 in the US.

It will be Whittaker's first fight in his hometown since 2014, when he stopped Clint Hester in the second round, Heavy reported. Quillan Salkilld and Benoit Saint Denis headline the card at lightweight, a fight announced on Oct. 27.

"Fighting in Sydney again is a dream come true," Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia on Monday morning, via NewsBeep. He also said Guskov wasn't the first opponent discussed. "His name wasn't the first one that was thrown around," he said. "But his name came into the mix later and he was happy to fight."

Whittaker didn't say who else came up, but he had named Guskov himself in August. He told the Believe You Me podcast that a fight with him "would've been great," according to MMA Sucka. We found no comment from Guskov on this fight in the coverage we read.

Where they stand

Guskov is 18-4-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the UFC, and Whittaker is 27-9 and 18-7, per MMA Junkie. He lost the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 and turns 36 on Dec. 20).

His last middleweight fight was a split-decision loss to Reinier de Ridder in July 2025. He then won his light heavyweight debut at UFC 329 on July 11, beating Nikita Krylov in the third round. Krylov looked to have a broken jaw by the end, according to Cageside Press.

Guskov comes in off a loss, but one he took on less than two weeks' notice. He stepped in for the injured Khalil Rountree Jr. against Magomed Ankalaev, theScore reported, and was stopped in the fifth round on July 25. Before that he had a majority draw with Jan Blachowicz at UFC 323. All 18 of his wins are finishes: 15 knockouts and three submissions.

They have never met, but Krylov links them. Guskov knocked him out in the first round on July 26, 2025, on the same card as Whittaker's loss to de Ridder. He closed at +163, a 36% chance that night. Whittaker closed at -125, or 53%, for his win over Krylov a year later.

Our site has no odds on this fight yet. Whittaker is 7-4 in his 11 UFC fights with closing prices since 2020. Guskov is 4-2 in six priced UFC fights, up 2.51 units at one unit a fight, and 3-2 as an underdog. That's a small sample.

Asked about the danger Guskov poses, Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia that light heavyweights "all hit bloody hard." His answer was simple: "The idea is to be quick and nimble on my feet and hit him before he hits me."

We think Whittaker's biggest risk comes early: all four of Guskov's UFC wins came inside two rounds. His last two fights went deeper, though, with a three-round draw and a fifth-round stoppage loss.

What's next

The UFC rankings have Guskov at No. 10 and Whittaker at No. 11, with Carlos Ulberg the champion. We think neither man is near a title shot, with nine ranked men above Guskov.

Whittaker has also ruled out fighting Ulberg, a teammate, for now. "I won't fight the boys that I train with," he said in August, according to MMA Sucka.

The fight streams live on Paramount+, according to the UFC's post, and the service's Australian deal covers UFC Fight Nights too. The UFC says premium tickets are on sale, with general public details to come.