Dana White Confirms Jared Cannonier Is Next For Israel Adesanya After UFC 271
UFC president Dana White has confirmed that top middleweight contender Jared Cannonier will get the next title shot against Israel Adesanya.
Cannonier continued his rise up the middleweight rankings with a vicious knockout of Derek Brunson at UFC 271. After struggling with Brunson’s wrestling early in the fight, he found his rhythm in the second and landed a flurry of strikes that finished Brunson.
Cannonier has now won two in a row and five of his last six bouts. Entering UFC 271, he earned a lopsided win over Kelvin Gastelum last August. Cannonier also earned finishes over the likes of Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson en route to the title conversation.
The fight with Brunson was billed as a No. 1 contender fight, but nothing was certain regarding the next middleweight title bout. During his UFC 271 post-fight press conference, White affirmed that Cannonier will get the next shot at Adesanya.
Dana White Confirms Jared Cannonier/Israel Adesanya Is Next
“I was excited to see that fight to see how it played out,” White said. “It was an exciting fight. And yeah, I’m not going to say no to Cannonier.”
Adesanya escaped with another win over Whittaker at UFC 271, earning a unanimous decision victory. It was a much more competitive fight from beginning to end, and some believed that Whittaker even did enough to earn the win on the scorecards.
Cannonier has solidified himself as the No. 1 middleweight contender to face Adesanya later this year. During his post-fight interview, Adesanya hinted at a potential return in June, at the earliest.
For now, Cannonier will take some time off to celebrate the biggest win of his UFC tenure. He’ll look to shock the world later this year when he finally gets his shot at an elusive UFC title.
What is your early prediction for Jared Cannonier vs. Israel Adesanya?
