UFC middleweight Jared Cannonier has stated his stipulation to take on a fight against the rising star Khamzat Chimaev.
After an impressive performance at UFC Vegas 75, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ interacted with the media during the post-fight press conference. At one point, the 39-year-old was asked for thoughts on possibly fighting Khamzat Chimaev.
Cannonier stated that he would be open to fighting ‘Borz’, only if a victory over him provided the 39-year-old with a shot at UFC gold:
“He’s not even ranked in middleweight, is he? So, I mean, I know he’s popular. Everybody wants to see him do his thing and stuff like that. If they called me and say, ‘Hey, Khamzat for [number one] contender’s match?’ That’s a yes. I’m trying to get to the title. I’m not just fighting to entertain you people. I know you guys want to see it. I know it’ll be a good fight. If that fight gets me the title shot, yes. I just beat number three, I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward. So, if Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell] say, ‘[Khamzat’s] between you and the champion, that’s something we can talk about,” said Jared Cannonier.
Check out Cannonier’s comments on fighting Khamzat Chimaev below:
Cannonier went up against Marvin Vettori in a five-round clash in the main event of UFC Vegas 75. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ put on a striking clinic and also set the record for the most significant strikes (241) thrown in a single middleweight bout.
Cannonier took home the victory via unanimous decision as the three judges scored the contest 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46 in his favor.
Khamzat Chimaev states his preferred date for UFC return
It has been quite some time since MMA fans saw Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC octagon. The Chechen-born Swede was last seen in action at UFC 279 in September last year. After failing to make the welterweight limit to fight Nate Diaz, Chimaev took on Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout (180 pounds) and defeated him via submission in the opening round.
Since then, the MMA world has been waiting to see ‘Borz’ fight again. In a recent Instagram post, Chimaev shared that he wished for his next fight to take place at UFC 294, which is set to take place on October 21 in Abu Dhabi.