UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is well aware of what Jared Cannonier is capable of.
Cannonier has quickly risen up the UFC middleweight rankings. “The Killa Gorilla” went from competing in the heavyweight division to light heavyweight, and now 185 pounds. He’s gone 3-0 since moving down to middleweight, stopping Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva, and David Branch.
Israel Adesanya Gives Jared Cannonier His Due
Adesanya told MMAFighting.com that Cannonier is a dark horse in the UFC’s middleweight division.
“100 percent I’m looking at him,” Adesanya said about Cannonier. “He’s a beast in the division. He’s the dark horse in the division. He’s the guy everyone is sleeping on but you can’t sleep on him because you’ll get put to sleep.
“I think he’s the guy, the second most dangerous guy in the division behind myself. I look forward to fighting him after his next fight.”
What’s next for Cannonier hasn’t been decided. Both “The Killa Gorilla” and Darren Till have expressed interest in fighting one another. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC has them share the Octagon.
As for Adesanya, his first title defense hasn’t been set. “The Last Stylebender” wants to fight Yoel Romero, but claims the UFC doesn’t think the title bout would sell. Adesanya became the undisputed UFC middleweight champion with his second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker last month. Paulo Costa was expected to be Adesanya’s first title challenger, but he is likely to be out of action until at least April due to surgery.