Jared Cannonier

By FCF Staff

After having his title shot run setback by Robert Whittaker last month, Jared Cannonier hopes to face another top contender next, and get back into the championship mix.

Cannonier faced the former middleweight champ at UFC 254, and dropped a unanimous decision. Leading up to the fight, champion Israel Adesanya said he hoped to face Cannonier next, if he won.

The 36-year-old Cannonier came up short in the fight, and he also broke his arm during it. But, the powerful fighter hasn’t lost any confidence in his abilities to content.

While talking to MMA Junkie recently about his next bout, Cannonier said this.

“Of course (Paulo) Costa, Darren Till, all those guys – all those top 10 guys who are making moves to get into the position to get a shot at the title,” Cannonier said. “Like you said, Darren Till (or) (Derek) Brunson. Uriah Hall is in there. He just had a pretty good win. I just saw he’s been scheduled to fight Chris Weidman. That’s definitely a fight that will get him there. It will definitely get Weidman back in the direction of the title, as well. So, there are a lot of things happening. It’s unfortunate that I’m in the position I am where I have to take a step back yet again. Luckily, this isn’t going to be as long of a recovery.

“… When I get back, it’s going to be a better version of what you guys saw and could’ve potentially seen Oct. 24. I’m only excited for what’s going to happen in the future, but again, in the present, I do everything I have to do to make that happen.”

Prior to facing Whittaker, Cannonier (13-5) had won three straight fights.