May 11, 2019; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Jared Cannonier (red gloves) reacts to fight against Anderson Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 237 at Jeunesse Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Jared Cannonier vs Sean Strickland rescheduled for UFC Fight Night event in December
A middleweight fight between contenders Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland is being rescheduled for later this year. Reporter Helen Yee was first to report through an interview with Strickland, that the matchup has been rescheduled to December 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for a Fight Night event.
Sean Strickland really appreciates Jared Cannonier. He says the fight is rescheduled for December 17 at the UFC Apex #UFCFightNight Full interview here —-> https://t.co/LooeN6lYuK pic.twitter.com/lenC3Ya8je
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) September 14, 2022
The original matchup between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland was pulled from their October 15 date after Strickland suffered a gruesome finger injury while training. Although their first matchup was set to serve as the main event in October, and is set to be the main event for the new date as well.
Jared Cannonier had a three-fight winning streak including a win over Anderson Silva before he dropped a decision loss to Robert Whittaker, then rebounded with a two-fight winning streak which led him to a title fight opportunity. That opportunity came earlier this year when he faced off against champion Israel Adesanya, a fight that the champion won convincingly by decision.
Despite the loss, Jared Cannonier is still the second-ranked contender in the division behind former champion Robert Whittaker, who is the top contender. Adesanya is scheduled to defend his title against rising contender Alex Pereira who has multiple wins over him in their kickboxing contests.
Sean Strickland’s last loss came to Pereira on the same night that Cannonier fell to Adesanya at UFC 276, though Strickland suffered a first-round knockout. With a 25-4 professional record behind him and multiple wins over top contenders, Strickland has cemented his place at the top of the middleweight division, and a win against Cannonier could catapult him back into future title contention.
With Robert Whittaker getting a victory against Marvin Vettori and Adesanya set to defend his title, there’s no telling what could be in line for the winner between Cannonier and Strickland, but a leap back into contention is not out of the question for whoever is victorious.
Here is the currently scheduled UFC Fight Night event card:
- Jared Cannonier vs Sean Strickland
- Alex Perez vs Amir Albazi
- Julian Marquez vs Deron Winn
- Tafon Nchukwi vs Jamal Pogues
- Sergey Morozov vs Journey Newson
- Bruno Silva vs Albert Duraev
