Jared Cannonier officially has a new opponent at UFC 248, as the middleweight fighter will face Darren Till at the pay-per-view.
Last week, it was revealed that former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker pulled out from his fight against Cannonier due to personal reasons. Whittaker himself addressed the fans over withdrawing from the bout on social media, though he never details the reasoning from backing out of the fight.
“I'm sorry to all my friends, supporters and family for not being able to fight in March. A lot has happened over the 12 last months and I need to take some time now to be with my family, slow things down and to refocus,” Whittaker wrote. “Sorry to everyone again but I'll be back. The best is yet to come.”
Cannonier enters the bout on a three-fight winning streak, defeating David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. The Texas native hasn’t lost a bout since his fight against Dominick Reyes in May 2018. Cannonier’s professional record stands at 13 wins and 4 losses.
Darren Till is coming into the fight with some momentum after getting an impressive split decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244. Prior to moving up to the middleweight division, the England native suffered a two-fight losing streak; however, the middleweight still holds a good record within the promotion overall. Till’s professional record stands at 18 wins, 2 losses, 1 no contest.
UFC 248 takes place on Saturday, March 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero headlining.