Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) feels he is somewhat trapped in an awkward spot in the UFC's middleweight rankings following his win over Gregory Rodrigues at the UFC Apex this past weekend.
Cannonier, who is set to turn 41 next month, weathered an early storm and even survived a couple of first-round knockdows to rally and get the finish over "Robocop" early in the 4th round of Saturday's main event.
Cannonier currently sits in 7th place in the middleweight rankings, and speaking at the post-fight press conference, "Killa Gorilla" pointed to the fact that he has already faced most of the names above him in the top 10 as a potential obstacle to his hopes of progessing up the division.
"I didn't say anybody specifically", he responded when asked who he would like to fight next, "but if you were to look at the rankings, I would like a ranked opponent for sure. I think I'm definitely going to get a ranked opponent after that victory. I would like somebody ranked higher than me. Unfortunately, all the people ranked higher than me are either in line to get a title shot, or going to wait for a title shot, or just beat me. But I'm not going to rule anything out".
Of those ranked above him, Cannonier has lost to Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho, Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya, leaving only the champion Dricus Du Plessis and the man he will likely face next, Khamzat Chimaev. While he is unlikely to be offered an opportunity to fight either of those men, he isn't ruling anything out. "If they say, hey, Jared, we need you to fight Dricus (Du Plessis) next for the belt. I'm like, hell yes. I'm ready" he said. "With that being said, as long as I keep winning, you know what I mean?
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