Stand up New Zealand! We finally have a UFC champion!

New Zealand is taking over the sporting world at the moment and this is just insane!

New Zealand-born UFC fighter Robert Whittaker has proved all the doubters wrong with a unanimous decision win over Yoel Romero to win the Interim Middleweight belt. Whittaker has a strong connection to Australia having been raised there from a very young age, so in saying that it appears as though Australia have proven themselves to be handy with the fists as well since Jeff Horn was able to walk away with the WBO Welterweight belt as well.

New Zealand has been fortunate to see Whittaker exhibit his skills when UFC first came to New Zealand in 2014 when James Te Huna and Nate Marquardt were the main title fight. 

The fight reportsshows that Whittaker landed more strikes which may have contributed in his decision win over Romero. 

Whittaker (20-4) recovered from a hyperextended knee in the first round with a strong striking performance, peppering Romero (12-2) with punches and kicks over the final three rounds. The Australian-based fighter won his eighth consecutive fight, earning the victory 48-47 on all three judges' scorecards at T-Mobile Arena.

Whittaker is set to take on Michael Bisping for the proper middleweight title, likely later this year.

• This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.