Jared Cannonier doesn’t like Sean Strickland’s chances to become UFC middleweight champion.
Nothing has yet been made official, but Strickland recently entered the title race as a possible opponent for champ Israel Adesanya. Many thought Adesanya, who’s expected to defend his belt at UFC 293 in Sydney on Sept. 9, was going to face heated rival Dricus Du Plessis.
However, Adesanya recently said Du Plessis is out, and Strickland is next in line. If that turns out to be the case, Cannonier thinks Adesanya will stay champion.
“Sean doesn’t even believe he could win that fight,” Cannonier told Helen Yee. “He just wants to go in there and fight and get some money. I believe I can win that fight. I think that’s the big difference between me and those other guys.
“Izzy is not an easy fight. The way those styles match up, I don’t think Sean will be able to work his jab and his funky-ass footwork, and his ability to evade shots. Izzy is way too long. He’s a sniper. Izzy is too diverse and versatile with his striking, and I don’t think Sean’s grappling is good enough to make it a factor to make it as competitive.”
Cannonier is coming off a dominant decision win over longtime contender Marvin Vettori in June. He also beat Strickland with a split decision before that. The two-fight winning streak marks his bounce back from a title loss to Adesanya at UFC 276.
But Cannonier also understands the unpredictability of MMA and will not count out Strickland 100 percent.
“A fight is a fight,” Cannonier said. “A lot of us didn’t think Du Plessis was able to do what he did to Robert Whittaker, so I wouldn’t count any man out in this game – especially at the top of the division. All of us have the ability to go in there, protect ourselves and incapacitate our opponents. But my money would be on Izzy if I were a betting man.”
