Jared Cannonier has signed a bout agreement to fight former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 248 in March 2020.
The possibility of a clash between Cannonier and Whittaker has been in the air for a while, and Cannonier has now moved things one step closer by putting pen to paper on a bout agreement to face the Australian on March 7 2020.
It comes not long after the UFC released details of their first high-profile bout, announcing earlier in the week that Weili Zhang will face Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
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Ready and Willing
According to reports from ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, one half of the bout agreement is signed and ready, with Cannonier’s manager declaring that the 35-year-old is ready and willing to step into the Octagon with the former undisputed middleweight champion.
Helwani wrote: “Jared Cannonier’s manager @LouDiBono tells me they have signed their bout agreement to face Robert Whittaker on March 7, however, the fight isn’t finalized yet because sources say Whittaker still wants that Darren Till fight in London. Interesting one. Expect a decision soon.”
Jared Cannonier’s manager @LouDiBono tells me they have signed their bout agreement to face Robert Whittaker on March 7, however, the fight isn’t finalized yet because sources say Whittaker still wants that Darren Till fight in London. Interesting one. Expect a decision soon.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 5, 2019
Under Pressure
The only remaining obstacle for this fight to happen is Whittaker’s desire to fight Darren Till in London.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “That’s the fight I’m currently interested in.”
“Plus I’ve never been to Europe before, so what better reason to go?”
Whittaker is coming off the back of a knockout defeat to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in October.
His first defeat in five years saw him lose his middleweight title to Adesanya, and he recently opened up about the pressure of being a title defender, telling ESPN: “Yeah I kind of, I didn’t really like it that much,”
“It’s one of those things that, it comes with some pros, but the cons were really starting distracting me.”
“There’s a lot of media, a lot of expectations and a lot of self-imposed pressure.”
“It didn’t agree with me super well.”
The 28-year-old is now trying to redeem himself, and has his sights set on division newcomer Till.
Flying High
Meanwhile Jared Cannonier is currently on a three-fight win streak, recording consecutive TKO victories over David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson.
‘The Killa Gorilla’ is flying high and should the fight go ahead, a victory could well see Cannonier earn a title shot of his own.
Having said that, a win over Till would likely land Robert Whittaker a contender spot as he endeavours to earn back his UFC gold from Adesanya.
So with ‘Bobby Knuckles’ likely to continue his push for a bout with Till, it looks like the bout agreement will only hold one signature for now.
UFC fans are in for a massive year in 2020, with multiple high-profile fights already confirmed and several others in the making.
Conor McGregor will take on Donald Cerrone on January 18 at UFC 246, and has spoke out about two further fights throughout the year.
Jorge Masvidal has also voiced plans for his next opponents, as 2020 shapes up to be an exciting one.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Jared Cannonier)