Jared Cannionier to Serve as Backup for UFC 248

Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier is officially the backup for the main event of UFC 248 on March 7, according to Dana White in the UFC 247 post-fight press conference. The main event of UFC 248 will feature a matchup between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero.

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5 weeks out from UFC 248 and still no fight. @robwhittakermma can’t make it. @darrentill2 is still thinking about it. I’ve got people asking me left and right if they can go ahead and buy tickets and plan trips to Vegas @mickmaynard2 @danawhite @ufc if Darren won’t fight and @yoelromeromma can get a title shot on a 2 fight L streak, then give @kgastelum a contenders match on one too. This is me waiting to hear back.

A post shared by Jared Cannonier (@killagorillamma) on Jan 31, 2020 at 8:12am PST

Cannonier was originally slated to fight former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, but Whittaker pulled out due to personal reasons. Darren Till was rumored as a potential opponent for Cannonier at UFC 248, but an ankle injury prevented the fight to finalize. Cannonier also called out Kelvin Gastelum out with the hopes of remaining on the card.

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Let’s do that again. And we Still got more brewing at @themmalab. #ufc #mmalab #ufccopenaghen🇩🇰

A post shared by Jared Cannonier (@killagorillamma) on Sep 28, 2019 at 6:02pm PDT

White was asked if Romero doesn’t make weight for UFC 248 if Cannonier will be the backup and White simply said “Yeah.” Since Cannonier moved to middleweight, he has reinvented himself and has become a contender in the division. He is currently on a three-fight win streak and all were by TKO, with his biggest win being a TKO victory over Anderson Silva. Cannonier is ranked fourth in the division and has an MMA record of 13-4.