Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier set for UFC 254

A middleweight fight between former champion Robert Whittaker and the surging Jared Cannonier is on tap for UFC 254 on Oct. 24.

Sources confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting on Saturday following an initial report from ESPN.

Whittaker (21-5) was previously scheduled face Cannonier (13-4) in March before withdrawing from the contest, citing burnout from training. He would eventually make it back into the win column with a decision win over Darren Till at UFC on ESPN 14 last weekend. Prior to this, fans saw “The Reaper” lose his UFC title, courtesy of a violent second-round knockout loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243.

For Cannonier, this will mark his first fight since undergoing pectoral surgery in February. Prior to this, “The Killa Gorilla” rattled off three straight stoppage wins, which includes TKOs of David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson.

While a location has yet to be announced, a lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov vs.Justin Gaethje is expected to headline UFC 254.