Roman Dolidze Claims Derek Brunson Is Out Of UFC 295, Calls On Robert Whittaker Or Jared Cannonier To Step In

The upcoming UFC 295 pay-per-view appears to have taken a hit.

On November 11, the mixed martial arts leader will return to New York City for a blockbuster event from the prestigious Madison Square Garden. In a main event worthy of the occasion, UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is scheduled to defend his title for the first time against divisional great Stipe Miocic.

Although the lineup is still coming together, one other notable matchup confirmed for the card was a clash of middleweight contenders Roman Dolidze and Derek Brunson. The former is coming off a narrow loss to Marvin Vettori, while the latter has slid out of contention courtesy of consecutive defeats to Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis.

UFC 295 looked set to mark the chance for both to rebound, but that no longer appears to be the case for Brunson. Per Dolidze, the #8-ranked contender has pulled out, the reasons for which remain unknown.

With his place at the MSG event on the line, the Georgian wasted little time beginning an opponent hunt...

Dolidze Sets Sights On Two Top Contenders

In the same social media post that saw him announce Brunson's withdrawal, Dolidze also called out former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Prior to the booking with Brunson, "The Reaper" had actually labeled "Georgian Viking" as a possible opponent for November.

And although he recently walked back his firm call for a return before the end of the year and insisted he deserves a top five opponent, perhaps this opportunity to bounce back from his unsuccessful title eliminator in July will prove too good to turn down.

Brunson also had a second option in mind should that not be the case, adding former title challenger Cannonier to the mix.