Jared Cannonier was supposed to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker on the same card, but Whittaker pulled out of the encounter for personal reasons. Darren Till was then reportedly going to take the place of Whittaker at UFC 248, but the bout hasn’t come together as of this writing.
However, all may not be lost for Cannonier, because UFC President Dana White has stated that he’ll be the backup for the UFC 248 main event according to MMA Junkie. Cannonier will only be eligible to compete at UFC 248 as a backup if either Adesanya or Romero are unable to compete.
Cannonier (13-4-0) could be entering the contest while in the midst of a three fight winning streak, having defeated David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. Cannonier has competed at three different weight classes in the UFC, earning an overall record of 6-4-0 in the promotion. Cannonier has picked up thirteen wins as a professional MMA fighter and nine of them have come by way of KO/TKO.
UFC 248 takes place on Saturday, March 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
