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