UFC middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier’s reaction, or lack thereof, to cameras as Aljamain Sterling, Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett hammed it up was one of the funnier moments of UFC 274.
Cannonier said he was just being himself, and he’s not hating on his colleagues for having a little fun.
“I go to the MMA Hour .. Cannonier said Monday on The MMA Hour: “I am there to see the circus, and not be part of it.” All of my fellows are respected and I take no offense at them. I’m just doing me. They’re doing them – that’s me. I’m staying in my zone, I’m staying in my energy, I’m protecting my energy. It’s not something I like to be surrounded with people I don’t know or who aren’t familiar with me, and who don’t I trust. It’s probably a stigma that I acquired from serving in the military – I hate being around many people.
“But that’s just me. It’s not like I’m anti-social. It’s not like I was sitting there, grouchety-grumpy for people making that assumption. I had a neutral look on my face, and I noticed the camera was right there; people see a camera and they start acting all kinds of ways, with that artificial eye watching them, people act all kinds of ways. Like I said, I’m not there to be a part of the circus. It’s a place to observe. To watch fights and learn, I was there. These fights were easy for me to visualize. My body was moving and tensing, as I was watching the fights. Everybody else was having a good time, which is fine, because I was, too. That’s just me. I’m not a real party animal. I don’t drink alcohol .”
at any given time.
Cannonier was alone that instant. His wife, who had just got up from her chair, left him with his coworkers. It wasn’t the first time that they’d made a scene.
“Molly was becoming a bit rowdy,” said he. “Every time I look up at the screen, I kept seeing her drink, hovering above our heads. Me and my wife, we got a little bit of beer on the back of us, but no biggie. All is well. We weren’t smothered. We were spritzed every once in a while .”
As a Phoenix local, Cannonier took advantage of the UFC card at Footprint Center and also got recognized for what could be the biggest event of his career – a title fight against current champ Israel Adesanya. The fight is scheduled to headline UFC 276 on July 2 as the climax to International Fight Week.
Cannonier’s road to the title took a detour with a decision loss to ex-champ Robert Whittaker. But after back-to-back wins in fights against Kelvin Gastelum and Derek Brunson, the latter of which produced a brutal highlight-reel knockout, he again earned the endorsement of the champ.
Cannonier is going through a difficult time. But he wasn’t upset at McCann and Pimblett, who just a few weeks ago did their jobs in spectacular fashion in separate appearances at UFC London.
” They were rowdy men, particularly Molly,” Cannonier stated. “She’s cool. They’re all cool. I have no qualms with any of them. But they was doing them, and I can’t hate on them. I’m not going to sit here and judge anybody based off of what they do, based of their upbringing, their experiences.
“S ***, They have the right to do anything they like, so long as it doesn’t harm anyone or prevent anybody else from doing their thing .”
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