Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier look to get back into title contention with a five-round headliner set for UFC Vegas 75 on June 17.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the new main event during a special announcement Thursday evening on the promotion’s YouTube page. UFC Vegas 75 takes place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
“Both guys are absolute beasts, and the winner will be on a very short list for the next title shot at 185 pounds,” White said.
Both Vettori and Cannonier have been at the top of that list. Vettori has twice fought and lost to current champ Israel Adesanya, who recently recaptured the belt at UFC 287 by avenging a knockout loss to Alex Pereira.
Vettori most recently picked up a win over surging prospect Roman Dolidze at UFC 286, while Cannonier fell short to Adesanya this past year at UFC 276 but bounced back with a recent decision over Sean Strickland at UFC Vegas 66.
A previously reported booking between one-time interim featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria was originally expected to main event UFC Vegas 75, but it will now serve as the headliner for a UFC Jacksonville card on June 24, White said. The UFC exec added UFC Jacksonville’s main card will air on ABC.
Emmett was stopped by Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in a fight for the interim belt. That broke his five-fight winning streak that included victories over Calvin Kattar, Shane Burgos and Dan Ige. The undefeated Topuria most recently defeated Bryce Mitchell with a second-round arm-triangle choke submission at UFC 282 to move his record to 13-0 overall.
“Two savages with knockout power, and that is a very fun fight in the 145-pound division,” White said.