UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker

UFC 213 was a mixed martial arts event held on July 8, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The main event featured an interim UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Cuban striker Yoel Romero and Australian."The Reaper" Robert Whittaker. The co-main event was for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship, pitting champion Amanda Nunes against challenger Valentina Shevchenko. The event was notable for a last-minute cancellation of a third fight planned for the main card.

As a live event, UFC 213's critical reception is primarily judged by the quality of the fights and the overall event production. The main and co-main events delivered exciting performances, although the interim title fight did not produce a definitive winner due to Romero missing weight, and the co-main event saw a very close and controversial split decision. The event faced significant disruption due to fight cancellations.

• Exciting performances in the main and co-main events, despite championship implications being altered by weight issues.
• The women's bantamweight title fight was a closely contested and controversial split decision.
• The event was plagued by last-minute fight cancellations, impacting the overall card strength.

Google audience: Audience reception for UFC 213 was mixed, with praise for the high-level striking and resilience shown in the top bouts, particularly from Whittaker and Shevchenko. However, significant disappointment was expressed regarding the last-minute withdrawal of Cody Garbrandt from his championship bout and Yoel Romero's failure to make weight for his interim title fight, which drew criticism.

The highly anticipated Bantamweight Championship rematch between Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt was originally scheduled as the main event but was scratched on fight day due to a back injury sustained by Garbrandt.