Jared Cannonier has opened up about getting emotional after his defeat against Israel Adesanya. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ lost to the then-UFC middleweight champion Adesanya via unanimous decision in their title matchup at UFC 276 in July.
As reported by MMA Fighting, in a recent edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Cannonier revealed that he cried after losing the title matchup. Similarly, earlier this year, Israel Adesanya appeared on The MMA Hour and told MMA Fighting that he cried after the Cannonier matchup, as he wasn’t satisfied with his performance.
Speaking about himself, Jared Cannonier has suggested that he cried out of frustration rather than sadness. He explained that he was fine on the way home and dosen’t dwell on such fleeting emotional moments. Cannonier stated:
“Right after the fight I went to the locker room and I cried… Crying isn’t a weakness… Crying is a biological thing that we do to release stress, relieve tension. It’s not a weakness. So the fact that the world has led us to believe that our natural bodily functions are bad for us, it’s why I don’t listen to people.”
He further added:
“Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t back there sobbing and needing a shoulder to cry on, needing somebody to hold me and a t** to su*k on or anything like that.”
Additionally, Jared Cannonier expressed his support for Israel Adesanya and asserted that ‘Izzy’ bore the brunt of criticism for their uneventful fight. Cannonier further highlighted that he doesn’t care about people’s opinions.
The 38-year-old indicated that they put on a technical, particularly defensively-sound, matchup. He also indicated that most people want to see back-and-forth wars where fighters sustain significant damage.
Cannonier acknowledged that he used the lessons learned from the loss to win his most recent matchup, beating Sean Strickland via split decision earlier this month. Additionally, he’s happy about having racked up significant octagon time in his three fights in 2022.
Jared Cannonier and Israel Adesanya’s quest for UFC gold in 2023
During the interview, Jared Cannonier alluded to the fact that Paulo Costa has withdrawn from his matchup against Robert Whittaker. The fight was set to transpire at UFC 284 on February 12th, 2023. Cannonier is willing to replace Costa and face Whittaker in a rematch to earn another UFC middleweight title shot. He’s also open to fighting lower-tier opponents if the Whittaker fight doesn’t materialize.
Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya is coming off a fifth-round TKO loss against Alex Pereira, whom he fought at UFC 281 in November. The fight witnessed ‘The Last Stylebender’ lose his UFC middleweight title to Pereira. On that note, Adesanya has vowed to reclaim his title and is expected to fight Pereira next in 2023.