Jared Cannonier seeks title shot following KO win over Derek Brunson at UFC 271

HOUSTON – It’s clear what Jared Cannonier wants following his most recent UFC win.

The middleweight contender is hoping to get the next shot at champion Israel Adesanya following his victory at Saturday’s UFC 271. Cannonier (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) brutally stopped fellow contender Derek Brunson (23-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) in the second round on the main card.

Immediately following his win, Cannonier took to the mic in his in-cage interview and addressed UFC president Dana White, who was sitting cageside at the event.

“Hey, Dana: Look at me,” Cannonier said. “Dana, I want that shot next. I get the shot next. It’s me. Nobody else. It’s me.”

Cannonier is one of the few top contenders who has yet to fight champion Israel Adesanya. He’s currently on a two-fight winning streak and 5-1 in his past six performances. Cannonier’s lone loss during that stretch was to former champion Robert Whittaker, who lost to Adesanya in a rematch in the UFC 271 main event.

The 37-year-old has UFC gold on his mind and said it would mean everything to capture the title since it’s the only thing that fuels his MMA career.

“(It would mean) all of this hard work coming to fruition,” Cannonier told reporters at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference. “That’s the path that I’m on. That’s the only reason I stay here in the UFC – to go for the title. I’m not a journeyman. I’m no gatekeeper. I’m ‘The Killa Gorilla.’”

As far as the fight his performance at UFC 271, Cannonier scored one of the nastiest finishes of his fighting career. He faced some adversity early in the first round, but managed to rally back in the second.

“That’s what I expected from him,” Cannonier said. “I expected him to go for those shots. I expected to defend them more … but I was prepared to do that.

“Anyone that’s watched me throughout my middleweight career, we’ve seen them before. They get the takedown once, maybe twice, but as soon as they get tired – that’s a lot of work for them to get the takedown. If they take me down, I’m getting right back up. And I’ve gotten even better at getting back up. It was business as usual. It wasn’t hard for me to get up.”