Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Jared Cannonier recently took to social media to make his case for a title shot against reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Recording one of the biggest upsets in the division's history, Strickland fought his way to a dominant unanimous decision victory against two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9. Now holding the highly coveted divisional strap, “Tarzan” has several solid options for opponents for his first title defense. Most fans are of the view that Adesanya isn't deserving of an immediate rematch, considering he holds just one win in his last three outings.
Another alternative includes Dricus Du Plessis, who secured an emphatic technical knockout victory at UFC 290 against former middleweight kingpin Robert Whittaker. While Du Plessis was offered to fight Adesanya on the recently concluded UFC 293 card, "Stillknocks" was unable to make it to the Octagon due to an injury. As a result, Strickland stepped up to take the opportunity and is now on top of the division.
Cannonier sits as one of the only fighters to defeat Strickland at middleweight, other than Alex Pereira. Back in December, Cannonier managed to edge out a contentious split decision victory against "Tarzan" in an extremely close fight. Keeping this in mind, Cannonier has now issued a direct challenge to Strickland for a rematch; this time, with the title on the line.
“If you’re a true hand to hand combat fan like me and not in it for the [clown] ass actors and their theatrics, then you know this is the fight to make,” Cannonier wrote on Instagram. “I beat the champ and got two checks to prove it. He wasn’t walking me down screaming in my face either. Nobody does that to me. The only other MW to beat him has ascended. He fought him differently than he fought me as well. On top of that he said it himself that he ‘fought like a b----’ so here’s your chance to redeem your man card @strickland_mma_ let’s actually do the man dance brother. P.S I was high as hell on that poster.”
Luckily for Cannonier, the reigning middleweight champion had expressed an interest in fighting him again and avenging the previous loss. However, that was before he got his hands on the belt. As per Strickland's post-fight interviews, the Xtreme Couture product appears open to fighting anyone the UFC deems fit for a shot at the crown, including his recent rival Cannonier.
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