5 Things You Might Not Know About Jared Cannonier

Jared Cannonier’s chase for the ever-elusive brass ring figures to end in a matter of days, one way or another.

The 38-year-old Texan will challenge Israel Adesanya for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown in the UFC 276 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Cannonier enters the Octagon on the heels of back-to-back victories, his momentum legitimate but tenuous after years of trial and error. He last appeared at UFC 271, where he put away Derek Brunson with a volley of elbows in the second round of their Feb. 12 pairing.

Ahead of Cannonier’s forthcoming showdown with the incomparable Adesanya, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He stood out on the regional circuit.

Cannonier started his mixed martial arts career with six consecutive finishes, five of them inside one round, and then laid claim to the Alaska Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a split decision over famed journeyman Tony Lopez at AFC 104 on Jan. 22, 2014. He made his UFC debut less than a year later.

2. Maximized potential resulted from wise choices.

“The Killa Gorilla” operates out of the star-studded MMA Lab camp in Glendale, Arizona, where he trains under John Crouch and shares the mat with a number of world-class stablemates, from former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Benson Henderson to Sean O’Malley, Kyler Phillips and Alex Caceres.

3. He repackaged himself more than once.

Cannonier has recorded victories in three different weight classes since he joined the UFC roster in January 2015. He has gone 5-1 as a middleweight, 2-3 as a light heavyweight and 1-1 as a heavyweight.

4. Quality has confounded him.

Three of the Dallas native’s five professional defeats have come to former UFC champions. Cannonier dropped a unanimous decision to Glover Teixeira at UFC 208 on Feb. 11, 2017, lost a unanimous verdict to Jan Blachowicz at UFC on Fox 26 on Dec. 16, 2017 and wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Robert Whittaker at UFC 254 on Oct. 24, 2020.

5. He knows his way around.

Cannonier has fought in seven different countries during his 20-fight career. He has gone 12-2 in the United States, 1-0 in Croatia, 1-0 in Brazil, 1-0 in Denmark, 0-1 in Canada, 0-1 in Chile and 0-1 in the United Arab Emirates.