Jared Cannonier Breaks Record—and Takes One Giant Step Closer to Middleweight Belt

Cannonier is coming off one of the best fights of the year.

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Jared Cannonier painted a masterpiece Saturday.

In a fight that was violent and bloody, Cannonier defeated Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision in the Apex to close out the UFC on ESPN card last Saturday. It started off with Vettori putting the pressure on Cannonier, but swiftly changed, especially in the second round, with Cannonier consistently delivering crisp, powerful shots en route to victory.

A candidate for best fight of the year, Cannonier (17–6) set a new middleweight significant strike record by landing 241, which also earned him the Fight of the Night accolade and a $50,000 bonus.

“Keep the pressure and don’t give him any room to breathe; that was the plan,” says Cannonier. “I wanted to get that finish.”

Though he was unable to finish Vettori (19-7-1), Cannonier did pick up a critical victory. It is his second win in a row and seventh over his past nine. His only two defeats in that stretch were against reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and top contender Robert Whittaker, who has a fight in a couple of weeks at UFC 290 against Dricus du Plessis to decide Adesanya’s next opponent. Cannonier is willing to be the backup for that title fight, which is likely to take place in the fall.

“I’m more than happy to step in for that opportunity,” says Cannonier. “I’m trying to get to the title. That’s what I’m doing, so I’ll do whatever gets me closer to the title.”

Another title shot is suddenly a very real proposition for Cannonier. He lost to Adesanya last July in his first shot at UFC gold, and it looked like the belt was out of his reach. Yet despite his age, the 39-year-old Cannonier continues to improve, even employing a new takedown offense against Vettori.

Coming off a successful training camp, it was clear that Cannonier put a great deal of emphasis on his grappling.

“I haven’t even shown off my submission game yet, so I’ll keep working on it and keep getting better,” says Cannonier. I’ve been studying these Dagestanis. I wanted to be as good as Khabib [Nurmagomedov], as good as Islam [Makhachev]. That’s the mountain I’m climbing.

“I want to keep showing improvements. I want to keep getting better.”

Ever since last summer’s loss against Adesanya, Cannonier wanted to increase his output and pressure. Breaking the middleweight significant strike record is proof he is trending in the right direction.

“I hit Vettori with a lot of hard shots,” says Cannonier. “I broke the record, and that’s not something I was trying to do. It’s a good record to have in my back pocket.

“For me, it’s all about the title. I’m doing what I have to do to get there.”

Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou would be big box office—but will it ever happen?

When Francis Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title in March 2021, there was no talk on the UFC 260 pay-per-view or ensuing postfight coverage about a rematch for Miocic. Instead, the focus immediately shifted to a bout pitting Ngannou against Jon Jones.

A lot has happened since March 2021. But plenty hasn’t changed. Miocic still has yet to return to the Octagon, waiting for a title shot that appears will never materialize. Ngannou defended the title once against Ciryl Gane, then left the UFC to enter free agency, where he ultimately signed with the PFL. Jones returned to action this past March, finally making his heavyweight debut and obliterating Ngannou to win the vacant belt. It would only make sense for Jones and Ngannou to fight in a title unification bout, except that Ngannou has signed with another promotion.

Jones and Ngannou had a face-to-face meeting this past Friday at the PFL card in Atlanta. It appears that no fight will come to fruition unless Endeavor—the UFC’s parent company—also decides to purchase the PFL. That is highly unlikely, but it was still captivating to see Jones and Ngannou go face-to-face this past Friday.

Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones shared a cageside conversation 🍿

(🎥: @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/8wCCxiQwJp

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 17, 2023

The question now becomes, can they ever find a way to fight?

Unfortunately, that prospect seems implausible. Ngannou is not scheduled to fight, at the earliest, until 2024, and Jones is in need of an opponent. That appeared to be Miocic, but negotiations have not progressed—remember, there was initially a chance that Miocic could challenge Jones for the belt this July, which clearly is not happening. Tyson Fury is now a legitimate possibility for a bout against Jones. Even if the prized boxer never steps foot in the Octagon, having Fury involved in talks with the UFC limits Miocic’s leverage. It also significantly hurts Ngannou, who was hoping for a massive crossover bout against Fury.

The fight between Jones and Ngannou, at least for now, will remain behind the scenes.

Patrício Pitbull comes up short in history-making quest

Patrício “Pitbull” Freire lost to Sergio Pettis this past Friday at Bellator 297, unable to add the bantamweight title to his collection.

All the focus was on Freire, but Pettis was decisively better. Had he won, Freire would have been the reigning featherweight and bantamweight champ-champ. In addition to his run as lightweight champ, he would have held the belt in three different weight classes throughout his career. But there was no controversy about this decision, which was scored as a victory by unanimous decision for Pettis.

After the fight, Pettis even admitted he had sincere doubts about whether he could defeat Freire.

“I thought I was going to lose this fight,” he said. “I ain’t going to lie.”

Pettis now moves on to his next title defense against Patchy Mix, which should be a phenomenal bout.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.