Jared Cannonier was challenged by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya last month. Photos / Getty Images
Jared Cannonier was challenged by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya last month. Photos / Getty Images
After defending his UFC middleweight title late last month, Israel Adesanya laid down a challenge to American counterpart Jared Cannonier.
"If he beats Robert Whittaker handily and dominates him, he's next," Adesanya said after a second-round TKO win over Paulo Costa.
This weekend, Cannonier gets his chance to rise to that challenge with he and New Zealand-born former champion Whittaker will square off in the co-main event at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning (NZ time).
Cannonier and Adesanya aren't strangers to one another and, as it turns out, Adesanya's post-fight interview wasn't the first time the Nigerian-born Kiwi champion had presented a challenge to the American.
The two met backstage during UFC 230 in New York in late 2018, after both claimed impressive wins.
"It was kind of funny; he was kind of sizing me up at that moment," Cannonier recalled. "He even said it himself: 'we'll see each other.' I said 'maybe' and he said 'oh yeah, we will.'
"I thought that was pretty cool. We took a little picture together at the moment and essentially sealed the deal. He walked his path and got to the title, and I'm walking my path."
All three of Jared Cannonier's wins at middleweight have come via TKO. Photo / Getty Images
Cannonier's bout against Whittaker will be just his fourth in the UFC's middleweight division after moving down first from heavyweight then light heavyweight. However, in his previous three bouts at middleweight, Cannonier has only taken on fighters in the division's top 15 – beating all inside the distance.
Adesanya made it clear that a win in similar fashion over Whittaker would earn him a shot at the gold, but, while flattered by the acknowledgement, Cannonier wasn't giving it too much thought.
"I don't really concern myself with what anyone else says about what I can do or what I'm going to do. I didn't hear Izzy say that and think 'yeah I should go train'. No, I train because this is my motivation; my motivation is the martial arts, not anything else.
"I'm not looking past anybody; I'm not thinking about what's going to happen after this fight. I know what's going to happen after this fight so I'm concerning myself with the fight.
"The future is never set, but my intentions are. I'm focused solely on being her and being present in the moment, and that way I won't miss what's happening right here and now.
"I don't put all the extra pressure on it considering it's a contender's fight; it's the co-main event on one of the biggest pay-per-views this year. I don't want to put too much weight on anything. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the biggest thing here, I'm the best thing her, I'm the baddest man on the planet and that's it – everything else is a distraction."
UFC 254 - Sunday October 25
3.30am: Early prelims on UFC Fight Pass 5am: Preliminary card on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN, Prime and Sky Sport Now 7am: Main card on UFC Fight Pass, Sky Arena and Sky Sport Now (pay-per-view on all platforms)
