Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira shifts from UFC 277 to UFC 276

A key UFC middleweight bout between Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira has a new date.

Originally scheduled to take place July 30 at UFC 277, the promotion has moved the bout one pay-per-view event earlier to UFC 276 on July 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the change but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Winner of his past six in a row, Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is closing in on his first-career title shot. The 31-year-old is coming off back-to-back main event wins over Uriah Hall, and most recently Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 200 in February.

Meanwhile, Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will get a highly ranked opponent in just his third UFC fight. The former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion scored a knockout victory over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 in New York,  followed by a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night 203 in March.

With the addition, the UFC 276 lineup includes:

• Lauren Murphy vs. Miesha Tate
• Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler
• Dricus Du Plessis vs. Brad Tavares
• Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
• Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
• Maycee Barber vs. Jessica Eye
• Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland