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Soon after an impressive win over former welterweight title contender Darren Till, Dana White announced that Robert Whittaker will take on Jared Cannonier in what is being billed as the #1 contender's match for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Robert Whittaker is currently ranked #1 in the UFC Middleweight rankings, with multiple wins over Yoel Romero, and notable victories over Jacare Souza, Derek Brunson, and Uriah Hall. Jared Cannonier is currently ranked #3 in the rankings with three back to back wins in the Middleweight division ever since losing to Dominick Reyes at the light-heavyweight division. Cannonier has notable victories over Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. Both the fighters are explosive and are known to finish the fight. It will be interesting to see how the fight will play out when Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier come face to face at UFC 254.
Can Robert Whittaker beat Jared Cannonier?
It's safe to assume that the winner of this fight will face the winner of Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa scheduled to headline UFC 253 come September for the undisputed UFC Middleweight Championship.
Robert Whittaker is an explosive striker and proved his credibility against an equally proficient striker like Darren Till in his last fight. However, Jared Cannonier has looked so much better ever since dropping down to the middleweight division. He is a solid contender and has grabbed the eyeballs of the current Middleweight king, Israel Adesanya. The Stylebbender had this to say about The Killa Gorilla. Adesanya shared his thoughts on a potential match-up with Jared Cannonier.
“Jared? It will be a good fight,” Adesanya told Luke Thomas. “The guy is spicy, I like him. But I just think he needs one more fight. Adesanya continued, “I think he’s the most dangerous fighter in that division. He’s the dark horse of that division. I and my coach agreed. He’s a guy we take seriously, we don’t take lightly.”
It's safe to assume that a win over former Champion Robert Whittaker will put Jared Cannonier on top of the division. However, will it be that easy to secure a win over one of the most dominant Middleweight we have seen in recent times? With just one loss in his last 11 outings, Robert Whittaker will go down as one of the greatest Middleweight fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. He is a dangerous striker and has an equally brilliant ground game. Whittaker was able to keep Darren Till guessing with his level changes throughout the five rounds of the fight.
If we look at Jared Cannonier, while he does have great takedown defense, Cannonier can occasionally get sloppy with his explosive striking. It was evident in his fight against Dominick Reyes. It's safe to assume to Cannonier has improved leaps and bounds since then, however, if we look at Whittaker's last performance, it's hard to bet against the former Champion.
Cannonier has not competed inside the octagon since September of 2019 and will be making a return after almost a year away from the octagon due to injury. Cannonier served as a backup for Yoel Romero vs Israel Adesanya at UFC 248, however, later he revealed that he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and expects to be out of action for six months.
Cannonier's recovery and his gameplan in the three-round fight are going to be vital factors going forward. However, Robert Whittaker will have an edge over Cannonier in the three-round fight. Whittaker manages distance well, can quickly change gears, and has fared better against explosives striker in the past.
