The promotion announced on Saturday that the fight will serve as the headliner for UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2. The card will also include a featherweight championship trilogy between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in the co-main event.
Adesanya will attempt to make his second successful title defense of 2022 after besting Robert Whittaker in a rematch in the UFC 271 headliner on Feb. 12. “The Last Stylebender” is 11-0 in UFC competition as a middleweight — including four successful championship defenses. His lone career defeat came in a move to 205 pounds, when he lost a decision to Jan Blachowicz in a light heavyweight title bout at UFC 259.
Cannonier enters the matchup with victories in five of his last six Octagon appearances. He rebounded from a decision loss to Whittaker at UFC 254 with a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum and a knockout of Derek Brunson. His middleweight resume also includes triumphs over Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva and David Branch.