Robert "the Reaper" Whittaker looks to earn himself another shot at UFC gold this Sunday, October 25, as he faces fellow middleweight contender Jared "Killa Gorilla" Cannonier at UFC 254 on Yas Island, UAE.

The winner will almost certainly face Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya for the title in their next fight. Adesanya has stated that he wants to face the winner and, barring any injuries, that seems like the likely outcome.

Whittaker defeated tough English prospect Darren Till in his last encounter in July, thus rebounding from his knockout loss to Adesanya in October 2019. His performance was impressive, out-feinting the Muay Thai stylist Till to land effective strikes and win the unanimous decision.

Cannonier is on a three-fight win streak, all by knockout, after a pair of losses at light heavyweight during 2017-2018 which saw him make the move to the middleweight division. In addition to this, he has perhaps the coolest last name possible for a fighter.

The two men match up fairly evenly on paper, with Whittaker having one inch of height over Cannonier's 5'11". Cannonier does enjoy a four-inch reach advantage, though this is partially offset by Whittaker having a 1.5-inch leg reach advantage.

In terms of style, they are both predominantly strikes, with both men having dangerous knockout power.

UFC 254 is headlined by UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) defending his belt and his undefeated record against Justin Gaethje. The fight has been hailed by pundits as perhaps Nurmagomedov's toughest test to date, given Gaethje's wrestling credentials and fierce striking prowess.

UFC 254 takes place this Sunday, October 25, with the main card starting at 7am NZ time. For those of you in New Zealand eager to watch the preliminary card, get ready to set your alarms for an anti-social 3:30am.