UFC finalizing Whittaker-Cannonier for UFC 254

The promotion is finalizing a middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier for the UFC 254 pay-per-view event on Oct. 24, UFC president Dana White said Friday, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

The fighters were set to face each other last March, but Whittaker pulled out due to undisclosed personal reasons.

Whittaker is coming off a unanimous decision win over Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night last weekend. It was his first fight since a brutal title loss to Israel Adesanya in October 2019, which ended a streak of nine consecutive wins for "The Reaper."

Meanwhile, Cannonier last fought in September 2019, when he defeated Jack Hermansson by TKO in UFC Fight Night. Since he dropped down from the light heavyweight division in 2018, "The Killa Gorilla" has won three straight fights.

The UFC 254's location has yet to be determined. The event will feature Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title on the main card.