Jared Cannonier (image via UFC/YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Derek Brunson has been calling for a title shot, following his win over Darren Till last weekend. But, Jared Cannonier doesn’t think the middleweight contender’s done enough yet to fight for the belt.

Brunson faced Till in the headliner of UFC Vegas 36, and submitted the latter with a third-round rear-naked-choke. The victory moved Brunson’s winning streak to five.

After the win, Brunson (23-7) called for a rematch with champion Israel Adesanya, who stopped him in November 2018.

More recently, however, Cannonier appeared on Submission Radio. While talking about Brunson’s title shot campaign, Cannonier argued the middleweight shouldn’t be fighting for the belt yet  (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I understand his stance. He’s been doing this for a long time, he hasn’t had his title shot, he was close to his title shot, and then he ran into Izzy, and now he’s on his way. I don’t think he’s in a position to wait for a title shot, to be honest. He’s No. 5, he beat No. 7. I don’t think that does much. I think that just solidifies your position right there at contendership. I don’t think it makes you the No. 1 contender.

“So, if he wants to be certified officially the No. 1 contender, he’d fight me. And then he can sit around and wait and be guaranteed the title shot. But as far as if I wait and he waits, I’m getting the title shot first. If you look at the rankings, that’s just how it is. I mean, to be honest, I’m waiting for them to call me. And if he says no, he won’t be the first one to say no to a fight with me. A bunch of these guys say no to me. A lot of these guys in the top of the division have said no to me. So, I’m not surprised.”

Cannonier (14-5), meanwhile, recorded a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum last month. The former heavyweight is 4-1 in his last 5 contests.

Adesanya is expected to face former champ, Robert Whittaker next. The latter was stopped by the current champ in 2019.