Report: Cannonier-Brunson pushed to UFC 271

The middleweight bout between Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson will now take place at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, sources told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

It was previously slated for UFC 270 on Jan. 22.

The promotion wanted the fight on the same card as the middleweight title rematch between champion Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, Okamoto added.

Brunson tweeted Tuesday that the fight had been rescheduled and that he was training for five rounds, alluding to the possibility that he could step into the main event should either Adesanya or Whittaker withdraw.

Cannonier is coming off a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in August. He's ranked third in the division and is 4-1 in his past five bouts.

Brunson, ranked No. 4, has won five in a row, including a third-round submission of Darren Till in a September UFC main event.

Assuming Adesanya-Whittaker proceeds as planned, the winner between Cannonier and Brunson will likely be in line for the next title shot.

UFC 271 is set to take place in Houston. UFC 270 will be in Anaheim and is headlined by the Francis Ngannou versus Ciryl Gane heavyweight title unification bout.