Jared Cannonier plans to keep working on grappling until he reaches Khabib Nurmagomedov level

LAS VEGAS – Jared Cannonier hopes to continue showing off new wrinkles to his game.

Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) defeated Marvin Vettori in this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 46 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The former title challenger landed four takedowns against Vettori, and warns the middleweight division that he’s becoming a more well-rounded threat.

“You guys better watch out – I can grapple, too,” Cannonier told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 46. “I haven’t even shown y’all my submission game yet. That’s just me taking you guys down, weighing on you guys, hitting you guys. I’ve been studying these Dagestanis and stuff. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the mountain that I’m climbing, personally.

“I want to be as good as those Khabibs (Nurmagomedov), good as those Islams (Makhachev) in there, good as all those guys as far as grappling goes. I’m going to keep working on my grappling. I’m going to keep getting better. I guess this is my second fight I’ve gotten a takedown, but my first fight that I’ve actively gone for takedowns. Improvements: I just wan to keep showing improvements. The next fight, I want to keep showing more improvements.”

Not only was Cannonier’s grappling on full display, his striking looked better than ever. According to UFC Stats, “The Killa Gorilla” set the single-fight record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC middleweight bout, landing 241 in total.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.