Jared Cannonier said the UFC initially offered him the Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 294 – but he got injured.
Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was booked to face Paulo Costa this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, but Costa was forced out due to a staph infection. Cannonier says the UFC called him, but he seriously injured himself before he could accept.
The UFC then pivoted to former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who accepted, but lost to Chimaev by majority decision.
“I got the call to step in to fight Chimaev,” Cannonier told Submission Radio. “But unfortunately, before I could tell my manager to tell the UFC yes, I had injured myself. So I wasn’t able to take that fight on 10 days’ (notice). They called me on the 10th. They called me, offered me that fight – before they offered it to Usman, they offered it to me. So it would have been me. It could have easily been me.”
Cannonier, who’s coming off back-to-back wins over current UFC middleweight champ Sean Strickland and former title challenger Marvin Vettori, broke down exactly how he injured his knee.
“So finally, 10 days before the fight, they give me the call,” Cannonier said. “Eleven days, 10 days before the fight, they give me the call and say, ‘OK, we’ll give you a title shot (if you win).’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. But let me go ahead and discuss this with my coaches like we always do and I’ll call you back with an emphatic yes.’ But not 40 minutes into practice, we’re working. I get hit with a mat return. I’m getting up – we’re working get-ups and stuff. Of course we’re working get-ups, right? Because I’m not expecting to not get taken down by Khamzat.
“I’m expecting that this guy’s going to be able to take me down, but he’s not going to be able to keep me down. And the answer in my mind is always no, they’re not, they’re never able to keep me down, and he ain’t no different. So that’s why I was working get-ups. And I got up, I got hit with a mat return, and when I hit the mat, I hit the mat in the way to where my left hip and my right foot hit the mat at the same time, and just the downward force of me hitting the ground in that manner went right to my MCL – tore the MCL. I got the MRI (and) verified it. So this opportunity, not only an hour after receiving the opportunity, does it slip through my hands in that manner.”
That means Cannonier’s (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) scheduled bout with Roman Dolidze (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 2 in Austin, Texas is now off.
“I’m scheduled to have surgery on it this Thursday, actually,” Cannonier said. “So the fight in December is not going to happen, and the UFC knows this. I’ve already told them. They already know. We’re working on getting the insurance and all this stuff done. So I guess this is the official thing and official breaking news – if there’s ever been breaking news with my name in it.
“But there could have been this past weekend. There would have been. There would have been for sure. But that’s life, man. That’s where I’m at. I’m not even as mad about the injury. Injuries happen in this sport. It’s just the timing of it, man. That’s what hurts most about it. But I’m not going to sit here and try to hang on to this moment and wish I could have and wish I would have. I’m going to focus on recovery – focus on what I can get better.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
