UFC 232 is in the rearview mirror and UFC 233 has been canceled. That means the next pay-per-view to look forward to is UFC 234 on Feb. 9...but unfortunately, there isn't that much to look forward to quite yet.

That's not because there aren't good fights attached to the Melbourne, Australia, card already, mind you. The main event, Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum, is a compelling middleweight title fight. Meanwhile, the co-main event pits all-time great Anderson Silva against fast-rising star Israel Adesanya.

No, the issue is that the card just hasn't really been fleshed out and sports just six official fights at this time:

• Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya
• Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem
• Jim Crute vs. Ryan Spann
• Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez
• Kai Kara France vs. Raulian Paiva

So what's the story behind each of these fights? What makes them worth looking forward to? Read on and find out!

The Main Event: Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum

How good is Robert Whittaker? Just looking at his winning streak and big gold belt, it's plain to see that he's very good. But is he all-time great material?

A strong case can be made that Whittaker is the "next big thing" in MMA. His technically sound striking and strong nose for finishing fights make him an exciting talent to watch, and his status as the first-ever Australian UFC champion makes him uniquely marketable. He's convincingly beaten some of the middleweight division's best and come out on top against explosive strikers, dominating grapplers and steely wrestlers alike.

That said, it's easy to doubt his staying power. Whittaker's rise came hand-in-hand with a decline among the middleweight establishment that saw Chris Weidman, Michael Bisping, Anderson Silva and many others fade from relevance. He has won his fights fair and square, but his greatest victories have come at the expense of fighters who are well past their prime, and he is yet to face a fellow fresh contender in the division.

UFC 234, however, will give a temperature check on him at every level.

He'll enter the event as a local favorite and has the opportunity to establish himself as a local draw similar to Mark Hunt or Vitor Belfort. He also has the chance to cement himself as the division's best by facing the dangerous, well-rounded Kelvin Gastelum.

If Whittaker can pull off a dominant win, UFC 234 could be for him what UFC Fight Night 46 was for Conor McGregor. If he can't? Well, Whittaker will be placed alongside all the other "next big things" that didn't quite shake out.

Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya

Once upon a time, Anderson Silva was the deadliest man in the UFC.

At his best, he danced around fellow champions and left them unconscious in embarrassing fashion. At his worst, he grew bored of his opponents and casually skated to a decision win as they flailed in vain. Whether it was exciting or boring, swaggering dominance was the norm for The Spider.

Time passed, though. A pair of crushing losses to Chris Weidman followed by a 2015 drug-testing scandal damaged Silva's credibility, both in and out of the cage.

Even more time passed. Losing for Silva became a fairly normal happening. Though none were especially crushing after Weidman—in fact, they typically came accompanied with some kind of asterisk—the aura of invincibility completely eroded and, once again, those competitive struggles were packaged with a failed drug test.

It's been a sad decline for the longest-reigning champion in UFC history...but he has the rare opportunity to turn back the clock at UFC 234.

On paper, Silva is set to be on the bad end of a squash match in Melbourne as he faces the fast-rising Israel Adesanya, the man many have pegged as his successor. In reality, however, he has the chance to completely reboot his career and cut to the front of the title-shot line by beating the No. 6-ranked middleweight.

That isn't necessarily likely to happen, of course. Adesanya stands as a considerable betting favorite, per OddsShark, and for good reason. The most probable outcome for this fight sees Adesanya take a page out of Silva's book and strut toward a lopsided victory.

Still, that glimmer of hope makes this a must-watch fight. Imagine Silva pulling off one of the greatest Cinderella runs in combat sports history! Just imagine it.

The Undercard

Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem

There's a big void near the top of the women's flyweight division right now. Valentina Shevchenko was crowned champion at UFC 231, but below her is an amorphous glut of potential contenders. That's a mess for UFC matchmakers, but it's a massive opportunity for contenders like Montana De La Rosa and Nadia Kassem.

Though both women are young in their UFC careers at this point (De La Rosa is 2-0, while Kassem is 1-0), precedent suggests it only takes two or three dominant wins and a solid call-out to earn a title shot. The winner of this fight will be in position to get a crack at the gold, and that makes this an important fight, even if it doesn't end up being a technical masterpiece.

Jim Crute vs. Ryan Spann

This matchup pits two alumni from Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series against one another for what should be a solid action fight. Crute is younger and will enjoy home-field advantage, but Spann is more experienced and considerably larger.

How will this one shake out? Spann is likely the safer bet given his larger body of work and stronger finishing skills, but if it goes the distance, expect Crute to get the benefit of the doubt from the judges.

Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez

This could well be a loser-leaves-town match. Martinez and Buren own a combined 0-3 UFC record despite facing some decidedly subpar competition. Couple that with the fact that the impending closure of the flyweight division will soon result in the bantamweight division overflowing with talent, and there just isn't really any need for the UFC to hold on to either of them.

Martinez is the clear pick here, given his better work against generally stiffer competition, but it's hard to feel especially confident in him regardless.

Kai Kara-France vs. Raulian Paiva

At face value, this is a disinteresting fight: one of those random "local guy vs. foreign opponent" matchups that land on these international events. Neither is a particularly enticing prospect, and neither is an especially exciting fighter to watch.

What makes this one interesting is the fact that it takes place in the flyweight division. The UFC's smallest men's weight class is set for closure, and that gives the handful of remaining fights on the schedule obvious stakes as everyone looks to audition for a spot at 135 pounds. Paiva, in all likelihood, will come out on top...but will he stick around past that?