A previously booked middleweight fight between Sean Strickland and Jared Cannonier has found its way back onto the 2022 UFC schedule.
The pairing is now expected to headline UFC’s final event of the year, on December 17th. The new date for the fight was first revealed in an interview with Strickland by Helen Yee.
The location for UFC’s December 17th “Fight Night” card isn’t known at the moment.
Strickland and Cannonier were first expected to clash in the main event of an October 15th UFC card. However, a brutal infection to Strickland’s right index finger caused him to undergo a “minor surgery,” and stopped him from competing on that card.
Now expected to be the last UFC fighters to make the walk in 2022, Cannonier and Strickland will be fighting to bounce back from high-profile losses.
Cannonier had an unsuccessful title fight in his last appearance, going five rounds against Israel Adesanya but losing via unanimous decision in the end.
Strickland lost what was likely a title eliminator fight in July, getting stopped in the first round by former kickboxing champion Alex Pereira. Since that fight, Pereira has been lined up as the next title contender for Adesanya.
Before his loss earlier this year, Strickland had a strong six-fight winning streak going which included two five-round victories.
Now with a main event assigned to it, here’s how UFC’s December 17th show looks:
Bout 6: Jared Cannonier (15-6) vs. Sean Strickland (25-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Alex Perez (24-7) vs. Amir Albazi (15-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Julian Marquez (9-3) vs. Deron Winn (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Tafon Nchukwi (6-3) vs. Jamal Pogues (9-3) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Sergey Morozov (18-5) vs. Journey Newson (10-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Bruno Silva (22-8) vs. Albert Duraev (15-4) (Middleweight)
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