The UFC middleweight showdown between ranked contenders Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson is on the move.
Originally scheduled for UFC 270 in Anaheim, Cannonier vs. Brunson will take take place the following month, as part of UFC 271 in Houston, Texas this coming February. ESPN was first to report news of the fight changing dates.
No reason for the switch has been revealed. However, it’s a change up that makes a lot of sense, given that UFC 271 is topped by middleweight champ Israel Adesanya defending his title against Robert Whittaker, a rematch of their 2019 meeting. Should either fighter fall out, one of Brunson or Cannonier would no doubt make a suitable replacement.
Brunson (23-7) is currently riding a five-fight win streak, most recently picking up a submission victory against Darren Till in September. Brunson has history with the champ; his last loss, prior to embarking on his current winning streak, came against “The Last Stylebender” prior to Adesanya winning gold.
Cannonier (14-5) is 4-1 across his last five fights, with the lone loss in that span coming to Robert Whittaker. In his lone fight of 2021, Cannonier bounced back from the loss to Whittaker by defeating TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum.
UFC 271 takes place February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The following fights have been reported for the card thus far:
Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Robert Whittaker – for the UFC middleweight championship
Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill
Carlos Ulberg vs. Fabio Cherant
Ed Herman vs. Maxim Grishin
Leomana Martinez vs. Ronnie Lawrence
Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
A.J. Dodson vs. Jacob Malkoun
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
Orion Cosce vs. Mike Mathetha
Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier
