USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Aug. 24: Jared Cannonier inches closer to title shot

Jared Cannonier isn’t interesting in anything other than a title shot or a No. 1 contender fight, and it’s hard to argue against him.

Cannonier (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) looked impressive in a five-round decision win over a durable Kelvin Gastelum (17-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) in the headlining bout of this past weekend’s UFC on ESPN 29 event. Cannonier was originally expected to face Brazilian contender Paulo Costa, but “Borrachinha” passed on the proposed matchup in favor of an October booking with Marvin Vettori.

By returning to action sooner, Cannonier now improves to 4-1 in his past five appearances and moves just past Costa in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings.

Cannonier now finds himself in prime position for a potential UFC title shot, though he’s said he’s also willing to consider a potential No. 1 contender fight.

Could that come against the winner of Costa vs. Vettori? Or perhaps next week’s headlining matchup between Derek Brunson and Darren Till could provide an option.

Time will tell. In the meantime, check out the latest rankings by clicking on the dropdown menu above.