For the primary time in a number of years, the UFC middleweight title image is pretty open.
A convincing win over Sean Strickland at UFC 312 firmly established Dricus Du Plessis’ title reign with a batch of intriguing contenders forward of him. Nonetheless, regardless of his fourth-round TKO of Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues within the UFC Vegas 102 primary occasion and having no earlier historical past with Du Plessis, Jared Cannonier will not be one in every of them.
Even at 40, Cannonier has proven few indicators of slowing down. In some ways, he’s the present era’s Yoel Romero — a robust, athletic striker who has remained atop the division into his 40s. Romero fought for the title at 43 — albeit in a combat no person loved watching — suggesting Cannonier can do the identical.
Like Romero, Cannonier was one in every of former champion Israel Adesanya’s 5 title defenses. In lots of related conditions, former titleholders and challengers have a faster path again to the belt, particularly with a special champion in workplace. Regardless, even together with his spectacular win over Rodrigues, Cannonier’s championship window is all however shut.
Sadly for “The Killa Gorilla,” the win is likely to be probably the most spectacular of his profession. Getting into the matchup on a two-fight shedding streak, he was set as much as fail in opposition to the up-and-coming ending machine who trains at an elite health club.
As he at all times does, Rodrigues bought off to a fast begin, knocking Cannonier down twice in Spherical 1. However the veteran’s sturdiness and resiliency reigned supreme and he ultimately outlasted the previous Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion.
Nonetheless, the win merely ended a tough stretch for Cannonier, making him simply 1-2 in his final three fights. General, he’s nonetheless simply 5-4 since 2020 with two knockout wins. That stretch consists of his title loss to Adesanya, a combat that ended to a refrain of boos from a stressed crowd.
With Cannonier approaching 41, the UFC will not be above placing ageing fighters in title fights, however it does maintain grudges in opposition to those that fail to carry out beneath the brightest lights.
Adesanya and Cannonier’s 25-minute stinker headlined an Worldwide Battle Week card that capped off every week stuffed with build-up, pre-fight promos and heated exchanges. Even with Du Plessis, a beloved motion fighter, holding the belt, Cannonier is nowhere close to a second title combat.
Greater than something, the timing works in opposition to Cannonier. Assuming he could make it to the cage, Khamzat Chimaev is the following man up for Du Plessis. Behind him, Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov — each of whom are coming off lopsided victories over Cannonier — are flattening the door.
It could probably take a minimum of two extra wins and a close to miraculous wave of excellent luck for the Dallas native to land again in a pay-per-view headlining place.
Within the fashionable UFC, it’s exhausting to rule out any risk. No one noticed Sean Strickland difficult for the belt, a lot much less profitable it, in 2023. All any fighter wants in a sport as recency-biased as MMA is a single win to alter their normal notion from the fan base. Both approach, a win over an unranked fighter, as gutsy because it was, doesn’t transfer Cannonier any nearer to a different title combat.
