UFC 293: Jared Cannonier To Weigh In As Backup For Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland 

According to reports, one-time middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier has been roped in to serve as backup for the UFC 293 headliner. The highly anticipated pay-per-view event will take place on September 10 in Sydney, Australia. 

Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title for the sixth time at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland. While Adesanya was initially slated to face Dricus Du Plessis, ‘Stillknocks’ was forced to pull out due to injury. Soon after, the promotion called ‘Tarzan’ and offered him the title shot. Given the bad blood between Adesanya and Strickland, it didn’t take long to book the grudge match. 

In a recent report by MMA Junkie, it was revealed that Jared Cannonier has flown to Sydney in case either headliner fails to show up. The 39-year-old fought Israel Adesanya for the title in July 2022 but was ultimately outpointed in the fight. 

‘The Killa Gorilla’ is on a two-fight win streak, with consecutive wins over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. Cannonier beat ‘Tarzan’ via split decision and earned a unanimous decision against ‘The Italian Dream.’ In the aftermath of his fight against Vettori, Cannonier expressed his eagerness to serve as a backup at UFC 293. It seems his wish has been granted. 

Considering Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland have never missed weight in their careers, it’s unlikely that Jared Cannonier would fight this weekend. However, ‘The Killa Gorilla’  would step on the scales as a 185-pound contender to be the headliner insurance. 

The UFC 293 pay-per-view event will be headlined by an Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland middleweight title fight. The co-main event will feature a heavyweight contest between Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkov. Elsewhere on the card, Manel Kape will face Felipe Dos Santos in a flyweight bout. Justin Tafa and Austen Lane will also go head-to-head in a heavyweight fight on the main card.