The path for Jared Cannonier is clear.
Cannonier scored a pivotal win on Saturday at UFC 271 in Houston, knocking Derek Brunson out in the second round and seemingly securing his spot as the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds. Cannonier then directly addressed UFC President Dana White who was sitting cageside. He asked for a chance at the title of middleweight and Israel Adesanya would retain it at night’s conclusion.
White was delighted with Cannonier’s performance, and suggested that he would be next to face Adesanya.
” I was thrilled to see the fight and see how it would play out,” White stated at the post-fight press conference. “It was an awesome fight and yeah, I’m not gonna say ‘no’ to Cannonier.”
Cannonier improved to 5-1 since moving down to the middleweight division after debuting in the UFC as a heavyweight in 2015. Four of his wins during that stretch came by way of KO/TKO, and his lone loss was at the hands of Robert Whittaker, who fell short in a rematch with Adesanya in the UFC 271 main event.
With Whittaker now down 0-2 in his series with Adesanya, it would appear that Cannonier is the last contender standing.
White also was asked his opinion on Adesanya who won his fourth consecutive title defense by unanimous decision over Whittaker. “The Last Stylebender” signed a new, lucrative deal with the UFC ahead of UFC 271, and it sounds like White thinks he’s worth every penny.
“He’s the champ,” White said. “He continues to win, and that’s just the way it works. will grow the more wins you have.
Adesanya said at the press conference that he might be available to fight in June. This was a good idea for White, even though he wasn’t sure when Adesanya would next book.
” I don’t know,” White stated. White said, “Listen. That’s another thing I love about this kid. He wants to fight every day. We’ll watch .”
to see how it turns out.
Aside from potentially fending off a fresh challenger in Cannonier, the next step for Adesanya may be him opening the door for the UFC to the continent of Africa. Adesanya proudly represents both his native Nigeria and his home country of New Zealand when he competes inside the octagon.
White said his first priority is to book a UFC card in England, but Africa remains a dream destination for him and his promotion.
“[Africa is] is as large as any other place we’d like to travel,” White stated. “It’s been, what, two and a half years now, we’ve been Vegas, California, New York, Texas ten times, Arizona, and Florida. So there’s a lot of places to go and a lot to do, but yeah, Africa’s a big one for me. Africa is definitely something I want to see. … Looking back at my life, it is clear that I want to fight in Africa .”
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