A long-rumored middleweight championship clash between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier has an official date and location.
The promotion announced on Saturday that the fight will serve as the headliner for UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2. The card will also include a featherweight championship trilogy between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in the co-main event.
Adesanya will attempt to make his second successful title defense of 2022 after besting Robert Whittaker in a rematch in the UFC 271 headliner on Feb. 12. “The Last Stylebender” is 11-0 in UFC competition as a middleweight — including four successful championship defenses. His lone career defeat came in a move to 205 pounds, when he lost a decision to Jan Blachowicz in a light heavyweight title bout at UFC 259.
Cannonier enters the matchup with victories in five of his last six Octagon appearances. He rebounded from a decision loss to Whittaker at UFC 254 with a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum and a knockout of Derek Brunson. His middleweight resume also includes triumphs over Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva and David Branch.
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