Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier Moved from UFC 270 to UFC 271

A pivotal bout between middleweight contenders Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier is getting a new date.

According to ESPN, Brunson vs. Cannonier has shifted from UFC 270 on Jan. 22 to UFC 271 on Feb. 12. UFC 271 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houson and is headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. The bout was moved because the promotion wanted to have it on the same card as the Adesanya-Whittaker title bout, per the report.

Brunson is currently in the midst of the second five-bout winning streak of his UFC tenure. That stretch includes triumphs over the likes of Darren Till, Kevin Holland and Edmen Shahbazyan in headlining appearances in his last three outings. The North Carolina native previously authored a five-bout winning streak from August 2014 to September 2016 before losing four of his next six inside the Octagon.

Cannonier, meanwhile, was on the verge of securing a 185-pound title shot after successive triumphs against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson, but a decision loss to Whittaker at UFC 254 pushed “The Killa Gorilla” back down the list of contenders. The 37-year-old MMA Lab representative bounced back in his last outing, earning a three-round verdict over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN 29 on Aug. 21.