Shortly after Jared Cannonier outdueled Marvin Vettori in a wildly entertaining slugfest at UFC on ESPN 47, the “The Killa Gorilla” was presented with the prospect of facing Khamzat Chimaev in his next bout. While Chimaev is one of the promotion’s fastest rising stars, Cannonier is only interested in such a matchup if the terms make sense for his future goals in the UFC’s middleweight division. After all, Chimaev isn’t really established at 185 pounds, but his future could be in the division after missing weight badly ahead of his last appearance at UFC 279.
Looking Forward, Not Backward
“Does that fight get me a title shot? You think so? I don’t know. He’s not even ranked at middleweight, is he?” Cannonier said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I know he’s popular. Everybody wants to see him do his thing and stuff like that. If they called me and said, ‘Hey, Khamzat for contender’s match?’ That’s a yes. I’m trying to get to the title. I’m not just fighting to entertain you people. I know you guys want to see it. I know it would be a good fight. If that gets me the title shot, yes. I just beat No. 3. I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward. I’m looking at the champion. So if Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell] and them say, ‘He’s between you and the champion,’ that’s something we can talk about. But if you’re saying, ‘Would you fight Khamzat and welcome him to the division?’ I’m like, does that get me to the title? That’s the question I’d have for you.”
Cannonier has been victorious in four of his last five UFC bouts, with his only defeat coming in a title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 last July. While Cannonier undoubtedly raised his profile with his win over Vettori, it’s expected that the winner of the Robert Whittaker-Dricus Du Plessis bout at UFC 290 will be the next No. 1 contender at 185 pounds.
Focus on Improvement and Opportunities
“The way I see the immediate future going is Robert is going to fight Dricus, I know Israel wants to fight Dricus so bad, but I feel with my performance, as far as the guys who make that decision, I’m sure that puts my name well up there in that area,” Cannonier said. “I’m not really concerning myself with what may or may not be. I’m just going to focus on the next fight. I’m going to get back in the gym and get back to getting myself better, get back to improving on my skills.”
Though Cannonier isn’t sold on a Chimaev fight, one possibility that does interest him is serving as a backup for the next middleweight title bout, which is rumored for UFC 293 in Sydney. “Yeah, man, we get paid for those moments,” Cannonier said. “I’m more than happy to step in for that opportunity, get paid even if I don’t fight. You still get paid a little bit, so I’m happy with that. And I wouldn’t mind a trip to Sydney. I’ve never been to Australia before, I’ve always wanted to go.”