Robert Whittaker will face Bogdan Guskov in a five round light heavyweight bout on February 6 at Afterpay Arena, with Yahoo Sports, Sherdog and MMA Fighting all confirming the promotion's announcement. It marks Whittaker's first fight in his home country since he competed against Israel Adesanya in Melbourne.

Whittaker is building a new chapter at 205 pounds. He's coming off a third round knockout of Nikita Krylov in his last outing and sits at number 11 in our light heavyweight rankings. Guskov, ranked just above him at number 10, is looking to bounce back after dropping a fifth round knockout loss to Magomed Ankalaev.

Our model sees this one close, giving Whittaker a 46 percent chance and Guskov 53 percent. The Elo numbers tell a similar story, with Guskov sitting at 1559 to Whittaker's 1496, both built off six tracked bouts. Whoever comes out on top will be stepping into a light heavyweight picture that's already shifting. Dominick Reyes defeated Azamat Murzakanov in his last outing.

UFC Sydney already had its headliner set with Salkilld facing Saint Denis, and the card is filling out around that main event and the Whittaker-Guskov co-main. Sherdog also reports a featherweight prospect matchup of Marwan Rahiki and JooSang Yoo has reportedly been added to the lineup, with the same date confirmed by chatter on r/MMA.

For Whittaker, this is as much about homecoming as it is about climbing the rankings. Six years away from an Australian crowd is a long time, and a win over a ranked opponent like Guskov would be a statement that his move up to light heavyweight is paying off.