[6][7][8] However, St-Pierre later indicated that he was currently mulling his future in the division and announced that he expected to be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Whittaker was then expected to defend the championship against former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold in the main event.

[11] However, it was announced on January 13 that Whittaker pulled out of the bout and was replaced by former middleweight interim title challenger Yoel Romero, who was scheduled to face former WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion David Branch at UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens.

[12] A lightweight bout between Jeremy Kennedy and Alexander Volkanovski was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura.

As a result, in the event that Romero won the fight with Rockhold, he would be ineligible for the championship, while the latter was still eligible.