Athletes
Jared Cannonier | If At First You Don’t Succeed…
MMA Is A Constant Cycle Of Improvement For Jared Cannonier As He Aims For Career Win Number 18 In Saturday Night’s Main Event In Las Vegas
Former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier has tasted the highs and experienced the lows, and he’s ready to bounce back into the win column on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues.
Cannonier’s career path in the UFC has been a remarkable one, as he arrived in the Octagon as a heavyweight, then gradually moved down the weights to eventually become one of the top middleweights in the world and a world title challenger. Now, after almost reaching the middleweight summit, he’s climbing the mountain again.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
Cannonier unsuccessfully challenged Israel Adesanya for the 185-pound crown at UFC 276 in July 2022, and notched bounce back victories over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori as his quest to return to the front of the middleweight queue started to gather momentum. But that impetus took a hit last year as Cannonier suffered back-to-back losses to rising contenders Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho.
Now “Tha Killa Gorilla” is back, and ready to start his 2025 with a win to resume his run back towards the top once again.
“Losing is not fun. But what more can you do?” he told UFC.com.
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I broke my arm in that last fight. So (I had to) heal up and try to get back to training and getting better and writing those awful wrongs as soon as possible.”
As a veteran of 25 pro fights, Cannonier has tasted the highs and lows of life at the highest level of MMA. But, despite having the experience of both ends of the emotional spectrum as a fighter, he said dealing with defeat never gets any easier.
"I wouldn't wish it on nobody, except for my opponent!” he said.
“But it's an unavoidable fact of life, especially for us competitors.
FULL FIGHTS: Cannonier vs Vettori | Rodrigues vs Tavares
“I could do without them, to be honest, but sometimes they're unavoidable. But, you know, it's what you do afterwards, it’s how you recover from them and trying to make the most out of them, I guess.”
Now aged 40, Cannonier plans to jump back into the Octagon and embark on a fresh run of form as he kicks off 2025 with a main event clash with dangerous Brazilian Gregory Rodrigues.
“I think he's a very skilled opponent,” he said.
“He's got those grappling credentials that they always talk about, but we hardly see in his fights, because he’s out there throwing big, heavy leather.”
Rodrigues heads into the bout riding a three-fight win streak, with victories over Denis Tiuliulin, Brad Tavares and Christian Leroy Duncan. And with other notable victories over the likes of Julian Marquez and Chidi Njokuani also on his resume, Rodrigues offers a tough test for Cannonier as he looks to bounce back into the winner’s circle this weekend.
"He's a very high-level fighter,” said Cannonier.
Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues
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Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues
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“We’re aware of some of the unique challenges that he brings and have been adjusting camp as such to prepare for those unique qualities of his.”
“I think one of the big things that stands out is his ability to take some shots and then respond with big shots of his own. I think that's one of his big redeeming qualities.”
Cannonier has consistently pushed himself through his UFC career, having battled across three weight classes and, unusually, moving down the weight classes rather than moving up.
And when we asked him how today’s version of Jared Cannonier differs to the Cannonier who first fought at 185 pounds back at UFC 230 in 2018, he said it was all about the knowledge gained over his career, and how he uses it to improve from fight to fight.
Full Fight | Jared Cannonier vs Marvin Vettori
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Full Fight | Jared Cannonier vs Marvin Vettori
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“Experience is definitely a big difference, naturally,” he said
“That's an obvious answer, right?! But definitely experience. It's always finding ways to do it better.
“How often do we have opportunities to do the same thing over and over again? Being a competitor like this is one of those opportunities for us. So it's good to be able to try and try again.”
RELATED: Gregory Rodrigues Interview
And with Cannonier looking to “try and try again” in his bid to return to the sharp end of the middleweight division, he’s continuing his relentless pursuit of improvement in the gym as he follows his straightforward plan for 2025.
“Win, train, get better. Win again, train, get better. Enjoy life on the outside. Win, train, get better, enjoy life. That's the cycle. That's it.”
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 15, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!