Robert Whittaker out of UFC 248 fight against Jared Cannonier

The UFC 248 lineup has taken a hit.

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has reportedly withdrawn from his UFC 248 bout against Jared Cannonier. MMA Junkie confirmed a Wednesday report from ESPN.

The reason for Whittaker’s withdrawal was not disclosed. It is unknown at this time if Cannonier (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will remain on the card.

Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) has not competed since losing his title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in October. The second-round knockout loss snapped a nine-fight win streak dating back to 2014.

As for Cannonier, the Alaska-born fighter has been on a roll as of late. In his last three fights, Cannonier has finished David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson by strikes in a combined 15:53 of fight time.

With the removal of Whittaker vs. Cannonier, the UFC 248 lineup now includes:

• Champ Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
• Jared Cannonier vs. TBA
• Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti
• Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
• Li Jingliang vs. Neil Magny
• Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
• Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
• Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Max Griffin vs. Alex Oliveira
• Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen