Jared Cannonier has challenged Sean Strickland to a challenge

The UFC’s No. 4 ranked middleweight, Jared Cannonier, who insured the title fight between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, believes he should be the one to next challenge the division’s new champion, whom he defeated late last year.

“If you’re a true melee fan like me and not a fan of these clown actors with their theaters, then you know this is a fight that needs to be staged,” Cannonier wrote on social media. “I beat the champ and got two checks to prove it. He didn’t follow me around screaming in my face – no one can do that in a fight with me. The only middleweight to beat him other than me went up. He fought him differently than he fought me. He said himself that he fought me ‘like s****’, so this is your chance to reclaim your manhood, Sean Strickland! Let’s do the man dance, bro!”

Last July, Jared Cannonier made a failed attempt to take the championship belt from Israel Adesanya, losing to the Nigerian by unanimous decision over five rounds. The 39-year-old American then made it two wins in a row, winning a split decision over Sean Strickland and a unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori.

Sean Strickland followed up his loss to Cannonier with two straight wins, a split decision over Nassurdin Imavov and a knockout over Abusupiyan Magomedov, and this past weekend the 32-year-old American authored one of the most high-profile upsets in mixed martial arts history, defeating Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision to take the championship belt from him.

In a recent interview, Strickland’s trainer, Eric Nixick, stated that he would like to see Cannonier, whom he considers the number one contender, as his ward’s next opponent.

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