Sean Strickland’s team has named a number one contender

Of all the top fighters in the middleweight division, fourth-ranked Jared Cannonier deserves a fight with Sean Strickland the most, the coach of current UFC middleweight champion Eric Nixick believes.

“Obviously, they’ll do what they need to do, but I would call Jared Cannonier for a number of reasons,” said the American specialist in an interview with The Schmo. “First of all, he beat us. It was a split decision, but the record indicates that we lost to him. And I know exactly what we did wrong in that fight and what cost us the win.”

Additionally, Nixick is impressed with how Cannonier, who insured the title fight between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya, handled his duties responsibly and stayed within the champion’s limit at the official weigh-in ceremony for UFC 293.

“I was impressed with Jared and his professionalism. He was really ready for the fight and was looking forward to the opportunity. It’s not easy to travel halfway across the world and not know if you’re going to fight or not. I feel that Jared Cannonier’s work and what he’s shown in his last few fights says that we should consider him the number one contender”

Last weekend at UFC 293 in Sydney, Sean Strickland scored a sensational victory, winning a unanimous decision over Israel Adesanya to become the division’s new champion.

Jared Cannonier followed up his win over Strickland with another successful performance, winning a unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori.

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