It looks like Jared Cannonier is next for Israel Adesanya according to UFC president Dana White.
Cannonier made it two wins in a row with an impressive come-from-behind knockout victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 271 last night.
He demanded a title shot soon after in his post-fight interview as he specifically addressed White with the latter giving him the thumbs up.
Later on in the night, Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title after outpointing Robert Whittaker in the main event.
Adesanya has targeted a fight with Cannonier as far back as 2020, and with both fighters coming out on top, the champion revealed he was very much interested and even had a date in mind.
“I know June doesn’t have a pay-per-view yet but like I said I’m the big dog in the yard. I know the other dog Jared Cannonier just did some work tonight. Yeah, I’m pissing in this cage in June. Watch me.”
Dana White: I’m Not Going To Say No To Jared Cannonier
While White has long stated he doesn’t make fights on the night of a fight, it looks like this will be an exception as he all but confirmed Cannonier would be next.
“I was excited to see that [Cannonier] fight to see how it was going to play out,” White said at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference. “It was an awesome fight and yeah, I’m not going to say no to Cannonier.”
As far as a date goes, White remains unsure. But he couldn’t help but love Adesanya’s desire to remain active.
“I don’t know. That’s another thing I love about that kid — he wants to fight all the time.”
You can watch his full press conference below:
