Sean Strickland vs. Jared Cannonier canceled

UFC President Dana White made the announcement on Tuesday, following Dana White's Contender Series 52 at the UFC Apex, that middleweight contender Sean Strickland would not be competing against Jared Cannonier on October 15. According to White, the fight has been cancelled with no replacement scheduled.

Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) had posted updates about his gravely infected finger on social media in the days leading up to the fight. In training, Strickland slashed his finger on a sparring partner's tooth, so the story goes. Strickland said on Tuesday that he needs surgery to treat an infection that developed in his wound.

“We had matchmaking today and that was when I found out there was something wrong with him. … I think we just scrapped the fight.” Dana said.

Strickland last fought in July, at UFC 276. Alex Pereira knocked him out. Tim Simpson, Strickland's manager at Paradigm Sports, recently told MMA Junkie that in his opinion, the next step for the fighter would be a title bout.

However, Cannonier has just suffered a loss on the same card. In the main event of UFC 276, he lost to champion Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision.