Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson set for UFC 270

By Cole Shelton - September 27, 2021

A pivotal middleweight clash will go down at UFC 270 as Jared Cannonier will take on Derek Brunson.

Jared-Cannonier, UFC Copenhagen

According to MMAJunkie, Brunson and Cannonier have agreed to fight one another on January 22, which is expected to be UFC 270. However, the UFC has yet to announce or confirm the event will be a pay-per-view.

Brunson also took to Twitter to reveal he signed a fight contract, which will end up being Cannonier.

“BIG FIGHT news . I got the fight I wanted . I sent that contract back in 30 secs,” Brunson wrote, seemingly confirming the Cannonier fight.

Jared Cannonier (14-5) returned to the win column last time out as he beat Kelvin Gastelum by decision in the main event after losing a three-round decision to Robert Whittaker. In the fight against Whittaker, he broke his arm early and still even rocked the former champ. Since dropping down to middleweight he’s 4-1 with his other three wins over Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva, and David Branch, all by knockout. The third-ranked middleweight has also fought at light heavyweight and heavyweight in the UFC.

Derek Brunson (23-7) is on a five-fight winning streak and coming off a submission win over Darren Till. Prior to that, he beat Kevin Holland by decision and TKO’d Edmen Shahbazyan with all three fights being main events. His other wins are over Ian Heinsich and Elias Theodorou, with his last loss being a TKO loss to the now-champ, Israel Adesanya.

With Cannonier vs. Brunson set for UFC 270, it’s likely that means Israel Adesanya will fight Robert Whittaker next time out. It’s also possible they put the middleweight title fight on this card to set up the winner of Cannonier-Brunson to fight the winner of Adesanya-Whittaker 2 later this year. Regardless, this is a big fight for the middleweight division and one that will go down in just a few months.

Who do you think will win, Jared Cannonier or Derek Brunson?