The UFC is finalizing a middleweight contest between former champion Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier for its UFC 254 pay-per-view event, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Friday.
UFC 254 is scheduled to take place on Oct. 24 at a location to be determined.
Whittaker (21-5) is fresh off a unanimous decision win against Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night last weekend on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The 29-year-old was scheduled to face Cannonier once already, at UFC 248 in March, but was forced to withdraw due to personal reasons.
Fighting out of Australia, Whittaker surrendered the middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya in October 2019. It is his only loss in his last 11 appearances.
Cannonier (13-4) has not fought since last September. The UFC initially tried to book him another opponent in March after Whittaker withdrew, but Cannonier was ultimately forced to delay his return to the Octagon due to a chest injury.
A former heavyweight, Cannonier is 3-0 since settling into the middleweight division in 2018. He has recorded wins against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson.
A lightweight unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje is currently slated to headline UFC 254.