High-profile fights are beginning to come together for 2025, and the latest report places longtime middleweight contender Jared Cannonier in another UFC Fight Night main event.
Cannonier (17-8), who sits alongside Conor McGregor as one of two fighters to have recorded knockout victories in three different weight classes, has slipped down the pecking order at 185 pounds.
A controversial stoppage loss to Nassourdine Imavov and decision defeat in a Fight of the Night with Caio Borralho has seen “The Killa Gorilla” go 0-2 in 2024. Having fallen to his first losing skid as a middleweight, the #8-ranked Cannonier is in need of a rebound performance next year to maintain his spot inside the top 10.
And per MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, that’ll come in a fifth consecutive main event for the 40-year-old, this time opposite a first-time headliner in Gregory Rodrigues (16-5) at the Apex-held UFC Fight Night on Feb. 15.
Fight News
Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues is in the works for the #UFCVegas102 main event, per sources
Robocop gets his first headlining spot.https://t.co/I1vQtFbtX2
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) December 4, 2024
Rodrigues has gained a reputation as an all-action fighter at 185 pounds since debuting following LFA championship success three years ago.
While losses to Armen Petrosyan and Brunno Ferreira stalled his rise, “Robocop” is currently on his best UFC run to date, having won three straight over Denis Tiuliulin, Brad Tavares, and Christian Leroy Duncan.
With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 15 are as follows:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues (middleweight main event)
- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (welterweight)
- Juliana Miller vs. Carli Judice (women’s flyweight)
- Jacob Malkoun vs. Rodolfo Vieira (middleweight)
- Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti (women’s bantamweight)
- Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews (featherweight)
- Billy Goff vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (welterweight)