LAS VEGAS – Jared Cannonier thinks it would be a bad sign for him if Sean Strickland starts talking trash during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 216 headliner.
Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) meets Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex. The card streams on ESPN+.
It’s an important fight for both contenders, who are looking to bounce back from high profile losses in their most recent outings. As much as the physical game will determine the fight, Cannonier also knows there’s a mental component to this one. Strickland is well known for his talking inside the cage, and on multiple occasions he’s been successful in rattling opponents.
“If he’s doing that then I’m not going my job well enough,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC Fight Night 216 media day on Wednesday. “I’m not putting the pressure on him to make him focus more on the fight opposed to talking crap and taking me out of my element. I think he’ll have his hands a little full to be talking crap, and if he is talking crap, good on him.”
When it comes to the style matchup, Cannonier said he’s ready to fight Strickland anywhere he wants. He’s expecting a stand up fight, and if it stays upright, he expects his power to be a decisive advantage.
“I’m expecting him – I know he wants to get in my face,” Strickland said. “He says he wants to go to the center of the octagon, stand there and duke it out. I expect him to (be the) same old Sean Strickland. Try to pressure me, try to walk me down, stick his jab in my face, get off a couple kicks, maybe get his right hand off. That’s what I expect him to try to do. We have answers for those attempts. If he doesn’t want to do any of that, I’m ready to lead the dance.”
For Cannonier, UFC Fight Night 216 marks a chance to rebound from the most high profile loss of his career. After working for years to get to a title shot, he delivered a flat performance in challenging then-champ Israel Adesanya for the title at UFC 276 in July.
He couldn’t get any effective offense going in a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Adesanya, but Cannonier said he learned some critical lessons that he’ll parlay into this fight.
“Naturally disappointment after the fight. I would like to say it gets easier, but it doesn’t,” Strickland said. “I went back to the locker room and shed a few tears, received condolences from family and friends and all that. But essentially on the way home from the arena, I was over it. I was ready to move on and get better, learn from the experience. It still sucked. The sting is still there. But I don’t focus on the negative. I focus on the positive.”
Since Cannonier lost to Adesanya, there has been a changing of the guard at 185 pounds. Alex Pereira is the new champion, which means a reset for the other contenders. A rematch between Pereira and Adesanya is likely on the horizon, however, and if the belt stays put, it will change Cannonier’s trajectory with a win.
“I suppose so,” Cannonier said. “Me, Robert Whittaker is up there. I’m sure the rematch between Israel and Alex is up there, as well. I’m right there. So good, old fashioned ass-whooping on Saturday will put me right there in the mix.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.
