The likely middleweight title eliminator between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier has a new date and location.
After originally being booked for UFC 270 on Jan. 22, the matchup between Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) and Cannonier (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has been shifted to UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston.
MMA Junkie confirmed the change with a person close to the situation following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
The switch adds more depth at 185 pounds to the lineup, which is headlined by a championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
Brunson, 37, rides a five-fight winning streak into one of the biggest opportunities of his career. The recent stretch of success includes victories over Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and most recently Darren Till.
Cannonier, 37, enters the fight a winner of four of his past five outings. Outside of a loss to Robert Whittaker two fights ago, Cannonier has racked up wins over David Branch, Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson, and most recently Kelvin Gastelum.
The latest UFC 271 lineup now includes:
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker – for middleweight title
- Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier
- Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
- Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
- Fabio Cherant vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Maxim Grishin vs. Ed Herman
- Ronnie Lawrence vs. Mana Martinez
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
- AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
- Orion Cosce vs. Mike Mathetha
