Jared Cannonier gets honest about difficult road ahead at middleweight

UFC star Jared Cannonier has given his honest thoughts on his road ahead in the middleweight division.

For the longest time, Jared Cannonier has been an ever present member of the top 15 at middleweight. He’s even competed for the championship, losing to Israel Adesanya almost three years ago. Following a poor run of form, he was looking to get back on track last night against Gregory Rodrigues – and that’s exactly what he did.

Jared Cannonier was able to mastermind a fantastic comeback victory, earning an impressive victory that is sure to vault him back up the rankings at 185 pounds. Of course, given his age and some of his losses, many wonder what the future holds for him.

As it turns out, Jared Cannonier is also pretty realistic when it comes to his next few outings.

Jared Cannonier’s view on his future

“It feels great, man,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “2024 was losses – not just in the octagon, but loss in my personal life, as well. 2024, I’m so happy to put that behind me. I’m so happy 2025 is getting off on a good note, on a good foot. Camp was great. I learned a lot throughout camp. The whole fight week process was awesome.”

“If you were to look at the rankings, I would like a ranked opponent for sure,” Cannonier said. “I think for sure, I’m going to get a ranked opponent after that victory. I would like to fight a ranking higher than me. Unfortunately, all the people ranked higher than me are either in line for a title shot or on the way for a title shot, or just beat me. But I’m not going to rule anything out. If they say, ‘Hey, Jared, we need you to fight Dricus for the belt,’ I’m like, ‘Hell yes. I’m ready.’”

Quotes via MMA Junkie