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Surging Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender, Jared Cannonier, is currently ranked No. 4 in the 185-pound division and knows that a victory over a fellow top contender — his fourth straight — would likely result in a 2020 title shot.
Therein lies the problem.
With Robert Whittaker out of action until further notice, and Darren Till stuck in negotiations with the UFC brass, there is no one left for “Killa Gorilla” to fight, unless the promotion opts to overlook the recent struggles of former title contender, Kelvin Gastelum.
“Five weeks out from UFC 248 and still no fight,” Cannonier wrote on Instagram. “Robert Whittaker can’t make it. Darren Till is still thinking about it. I’ve got people asking me left and right if they can go ahead and buy tickets and plan trips to Vegas. If Darren won’t fight and Yoel Romero can get a title shot on a two-fight losing streak, then give Kelvin Gastelum a contenders match on one too.”
Gastelum holds the No. 7 spot at 185 pounds and has dropped back-to-back fights to Israel Adesanya and the aforementioned Till, though you can argue both losses were closely contested. In fact, “The Last Stylebender” called it the toughest bout of his UFC career.
Also referred to as “challenging.”
As for Cannonier (13-4), who worked his way down from the heavyweight division, he’s coming off a spectacular technical knockout win over No. 6 ranked Jack Hermansson. “Killa Gorilla” has 11 nasty finishes in 13 wins, which doesn’t help his matchmaking prospects.