UFC Sydney Adds Banger Co-Main Event Fight Featuring Ex-UFC Champion

The co-main event for UFC Sydney will see a former champion attempt to move closer towards winning a UFC belt in a second weight class.

Scheduled to take place at the Afterpay Arena on February 6, UFC Sydney will be the promotion’s third event of 2027 following a UFC Fight Night event in Dallas and highly-anticipated UFC 336 card in Edmonton on January 30.

UFC Sydney is set to feature a huge lightweight headliner, as Australia’s Quillan Salkilld will try to continue an undefeated start to his UFC career when he takes on fan favorite Benoit Saint-Denis.

UFC Sydney Adds Robert Whittaker vs. Bogdan Guskov as Co-Main Event

It was no surprise to see Salkilld booked for a main event in Sydney, as the 26-year-old is on an impressive run and the UFC always makes an effort to stack its international cards with as many local stars as it has available.

Quillan Salkilld (red gloves) fights Yanal Ashmouz (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The promotion has also managed to do the same for the night’s co-main event, as this week the UFC announced that UFC Sydney will include a light heavyweight bout featuring Robert Whittaker and Bogdan Guskov.

#UFCSydney co-main event is LOCKED IN 🔒@BogdanGuskov vs @robwhittakermma

[ #FeelNewSydney | #ILoveSydney | SAT FEB 6 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] pic.twitter.com/S5h4PeLRZL
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2026

Robert Whittaker Moved Up to Light Heavyweight at UFC 329

A former UFC middleweight champion, Whittaker relinquished the UFC’s 185 lbs. belt in 2019 when he was knocked out by Israel Adesanya.

That setback marked the first time Whittaker had lost since moving up to middleweight in 2014, and he rebounded with three-straight wins to set up a UFC 271 rematch with Adesanya that he unfortunately lost via unanimous decision.

Israel Adesanya (red gloves) fights Robert Whittaker (blue gloves) during UFC 271 at Toyota Center. | USA TODAY Sports

“The Reaper” alternated wins and losses over his next four fights before being submitted by future middleweight titleholder Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308, which was followed by a split decision loss to Reinier de Ridder the following year that left Whittaker on just the second two-fight skid of his career.

Robert Whittaker (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Nikita Krylov (red gloves) after a light heavyweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Some fans questioned the former welterweight’s decision to move up to the light heavyweight division at UFC 329, but Whittaker silenced at least some of those doubters when he stopped Nikita Krylov early in the third round.

Bogdan Guskov Set to Face Another Former UFC Champion

Whittaker will have the opportunity to take a significant step towards light heavyweight title contention at UFC Sydney when he meets Guskov, who currently sits just above the former champion in both the media and Meta AI UFC rankings.

Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) fights Bogdan Guskov (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After he was submitted by former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in his UFC debut in 2023, Guskov put together a four-fight streak of finishes that was capped off by a first-round knockout of the aforementioned Krylov during the undercard for Whittaker’s fight with de Ridder.

“Hitman” fought to a draw with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz at UFC 323 and was originally set to meet him in a rematch at UFC 328, but Guskov ended up replacing Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Abu Dhabi in July and was stopped by another former champion in Magomed Ankalaev during the fifth round.

UFC Sydney Fight Card

Main Event: Quillan Salkilld vs. Benoit Saint-Denis

Co-Main Event: Robert Whittaker vs. Bogdan Guskov

George Mangos vs. Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj – Road to UFC Featherweight Final

Rabindra Dhant vs. Ryo Tajima – Road to UFC Bantamweight Final

Jiniushiyue vs. Takaya Suzuki – Road to UFC Flyweight Final

Bo Meng vs. Bo Hyun Park – Road to UFC Strawweight Final

Marwan Rahiki vs. Joo Sang Yoo

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