Jared Cannonier recognizes the position of “Guardian”

Las Vegas – Jared Cannonier does not have the impression of being the average weight of the UFC but understands why it can appear as such.

In 2022, Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) failed in a title against Israel Adesanya at the time. Since then, he went 2-2, the two losses being consecutive in 2024.

In the UFC Fight Night 251 Main Event on Saturday at the UFC Apex, “The Killa Gorilla” aims to bounce against Gregory Rodrigues, a competitor up of a sequence of victories with three fights. On paper, this is a big step in competition for Rodrigues (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

“I think he has roughly won what he did,” Cannonier told journalists on Wednesday media day. “I guess you can consider me as sacrificial lamb in this regard, right?” This is the name of the game: we fight each other. I try to separate the emotional aspect of what we are doing here.

“It’s a business. We do business. That’s just it. In addition, my last two fights were of the same essence, if you want. … Same situation again.

Cannonier is currently classified promotion n ° 7 in the medium weight division, while Rodrigues is not classified. Although he hesitates to put himself the formidable label of goalkeepers, Cannonier explains why he looks like this.

Cannonier held place n ° 5 when he fought Caio Borralho, classified n ° 12, the widest gap in the ranking for a match since his shot by the title. Even if it was a night fight, Cannonier left with a second consecutive defeat, which followed a fourth round finish by Nassourdine Imavov.

Now Cannonier gets an outside opponent who looks, someone who is hungry to make a statement against a top 10 fighter. When asked if the division was currently configured to allow the Challengers to increase quickly The classification, Cannonier said that it depended on the fighters who hold these lower figures next to their name.

“I do not know, that Uus will be put on the guys who are confronted with the contenders, that is to say myself,” said Cannonier. “I lose these fights against the UP and the arrivals and I open the door to them. I don’t want to say it, but it is not that I found myself in a caretaker position, but that smells that if you are outside, know what I mean?

“I just analyze it for you. You ask the question; I do an analysis on this subject. This is not what I feel. I don’t really consider all this sh * t when I think about what I do daily or when I have these guys. I just prepare to wage war with another tall high and go. »»

To find out more about the map, visit the MMA Junkie event center for UFC Fight Night 251.