UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will attempt to keep his dominant run as champion alive later this year, facing Jared Cannonier in the main event of the promotion’s July 2nd card.
The pairing was confirmed during a UFC broadcast on Saturday night. The matchup will headline UFC 276, which is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Adesanya has been unstoppable since earning UFC’s middleweight belt in 2019. He defended his title for the fourth time in February, facing former titleholder Robert Whittaker in a rematch.
Adesanya went five rounds against Whittaker, leaving with a unanimous decision victory in the end.
Cannonier is getting the title shot after numerous years near the top of UFC’s middleweight division.
Cannonier’s last victory was a stoppage victory over Derek Brunson earlier this year. Following that win, Cannonier proclaimed that he was next for a title opportunity.
Before then, Cannonier went five rounds in the main event of a “Fight Night” card for a decision victory against Kelvin Gastelum.
It was also confirmed Saturday that a previously rumored trilogy title fight between UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway would take place on the card.
With those two title fights, here is how UFC 276 looks:
Bout 8: Israel Adesanya (22-1) vs. Jared Cannonier (15-5) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
Bout 7: Alexander Volkanovski (24-1) vs. Max Holloway (23-6) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 6: Miesha Tate (19-8) vs. Lauren Murphy (15-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: Brad Tavares (19-6) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (16-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Jessica Eye (15-10) vs. Maycee Barber (10-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Robbie Lawler (29-15) vs. Bryan Barberena (17-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Sean Strickland (25-3) Vs. Alex Pereira (5-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Pedro Munhoz (19-7) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1) (Bantamweight)
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