Middleweight contender Jared Cannonier beat the brakes off Marvin Vettori across five rounds of lopsided action in one of the most brutal beatdowns of 2023, a “Fight of the Night” performance at UFC Vegas 75 that even had Israel Adesanya looking over his shoulder.
Now Cannonier, 39, is setting his sights on newly-crowned champion Dricus Du Plessis.
“I think that’s going to be a very exciting fight, you know?” Cannonier told Inside Fighting (transcribed by MMA News). “He doesn’t go backwards too much, you know what I’m saying? He’s very smart in his movement, but he’s a pressure fighter, he is a present fighter. He doesn’t try to goad you into, you know, pull you into traps or anything like that, he’d rather run you over. You know, kick your head off, his lead leg kick looks really good on him too, man.”
Cannonier (17-6), who also holds a decision victory over former champion Sean Strickland, is currently ranked No. 4 at 185 pounds but remains in front and center in the middleweight title hunt. It’s not unreasonable to think a commanding performance in his return from injury could result in a second title shot.
“But that’s going to be a good fight because I’m a very smart fighter,” Cannonier continued. “But at the same time I’m — my job, my goal is to go in there and whoop you’re ass, you know what I mean? I’m trying to finish you as fast as possible, as cleanly as possible, and in working on that, I’ve gotten much better at this thing, you know what I mean? So, it’s gonna be two guys — it’s gonna become like the Vettori fight, you know what I mean? But I wouldn’t see that going the distance.”
Du Plessis is expected to defend against Adesanya at some point later this year.