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Dricus du Plessis has found himself in Jared Cannonier's line of sight as 'Tha Killa Gorilla' pursues his second UFC middleweight title fight. During a recent InsideFighting interview, Cannonier outlined exactly how he feels a matchup between him and newly minted 185-pound champion du Plessis would play out.
Cannonier, a brutal knockout artist who has never been short on confidence, told interviewer James Lynch that he believes he possesses all of the necessary tools to mount a serious challenge.
"It's gonna be like the Vettori fight, you know what I mean? But I wouldn't see that going the distance. I'm gonna be in his face, that's for damn sure. We're gonna see if he's gonna be able to stick around and get in my face. But that usually doesn't happen in my fights. I'm an imposing presence in there."
Check out Jared Cannonier's comments about fighting Dricus du Plessis (21:35):
'Tha Killa Gorilla' currently occupies the No.4 spot in the middleweight rankings, which he earned through his efforts in back-to-back wins over Marvin Vettori and ex-middleweight champion Sean Strickland. He has been campaigning for a title fight for some time now, and it is understandable.
There's an eagerness for Cannonier to undo his impotent performance against Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. The two men faced off in a widely panned bout for the middleweight strap. But due to either an inability or unwillingness to press the action, Cannonier lost an uneventful unanimous decision.
However, he believes that that will not be the case should he score a bout with du Plessis, who is the reigning UFC middleweight champion.
Who else has Dricus du Plessis eyed for his next fight?
Dricus du Plessis and Jared Cannonier may very well cross paths in the future. For now, however, the South African star is focused on booking a matchup with either Israel Adesanya or Alex Pereira. 'The Last Stylebender' has been on a hiatus since a historic loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
However, following his win at UFC 297, du Plessis called him out, challenging him to return to the octagon so that they may settle their feud. Meanwhile, Pereira is someone that du Plessis hopes to challenge for the light heavyweight title in the near future.
