Both coming off high-profile losses at middleweight, Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland could be matched up. UFC is reportedly looking to pair up the 185-pound talents for the main event of their October 15th “Fight Night” event.
Although fight hasn’t been officially signed by either party, the fight is currently in the works, per reporter Ariel Helwani. An exact location for the event isn’t known at the moment, but Helwani noted that the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is “likely” the setting.
Both middleweight names suffered losses at UFC 276 last month.
Cannonier had an unsuccessful title shot, going five rounds against reigning champion Israel Adesanya but losing via unanimous decision in the end. Prior to that defeat, Cannonier had attained wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Derek Brunson.
Strickland had his climb up the middleweight division stopped by explosive striker Alex Pereira, who finished him in the first round of their bout. Strickland entered the fight with a strong six-fight winning streak that included two five-round main event victories.
A win for Cannonier or Strickland in this matchup would put them back on the right track after a setback. Here’s an updated look at UFC’s October 15th show:
Bout 6: Jared Cannonier (15-6) vs. Sean Strickland (25-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Jonathan Martinez (16-4) vs. Cub Swanson (28-12) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Askar Askarov (14-1-1) vs. Brandon Royval (14-6) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Alexa Grasso (14-3) vs. Viviane Araujo (11-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Piera Rodriguez (8-0) vs. Sam Hughes (7-4) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: CJ Vergara (10-3-1) vs. Tatsuro Taira (11-0) (Flyweight)
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