Jared Cannonier says he could be ready to fight at UFC 300, eyes Dricus Du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev next

Middleweight contender Jared Cannonier is the latest to show interest in fighting at UFC 300 in April.

‘The Killa Gorilla’ has been out of action since a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori in June. That victory was the second in a row for Jared Cannonier, previously defeating Sean Strickland in December 2022. After Paulo Costa withdrew, the seemingly ageless middleweight also got a call to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 last October.

Naturally, Jared Cannonier accepted the short-notice bout. However, he never made the walk to the octagon. Around an hour after accepting the fight with Khamzat Chimaev, Cannonier went to training and tore his MCL. As a result, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman stepped in and faced ‘Borz’ instead.

During Jared Cannonier’s time on the shelf, the middleweight division has been entirely turned upside down. Last September, Israel Adesanya was famously upset by the aforementioned Sean Strickland, who won the gold by decision. At UFC 297 over the weekend, ‘Tarzan’ suffered a split-decision loss to Dricus du Plessis, quickly ending his title reign.

Fresh off the heels of that title fight, the South African now has a challenge from Jared Cannonier. Per Inside Fighting’s James Lynch, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ is interested in fighting Dricus du Plessis at UFC 300 in April. Given his two-fight winning streak, and win over Strickland, Cannonier believes a title shot makes sense. He also believes that his MCL is healing well enough, to make the event.

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Jared Cannonier calls for UFC 300 return against Dricus du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev

However, if a title shot won’t be coming, Jared Cannonier is also interested in facing Khamzat Chimaev. The Chechen defeated ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in their aforementioned UFC 294 bout last October, labeled a title eliminator. Historically, that would grant one a crack at a title.

Instead, Dana White seemingly likes the sound of Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya a lot better. Following UFC 297 on Saturday, the promoter opined that ‘The Last Stylebender’ could be next for the South African. That later led to a rant from Chimaev, who believes that White is going back on his word of a title shot.

Nonetheless, the addition of Jared Cannonier would only make UFC 300 an even greater event. As of now, there’s a pair of title fights attached to the event. Strawweight champion Weili Zhang will look to defeat the rising Yan Xiaonan, while ceremonial ‘BMF’ champion Justin Gaethje will face Max Holloway.

Furthermore, names such as Kayla Harrison are also set for the milestone event in April as well. The former PFL tournament winner was signed earlier this week and will face Holly Holm. Dana White has also stated that he’s not done building the event either and that the UFC 300 main event would shock fans. Hopefully, there’s room somewhere on the card for ‘The Killa Gorilla’.

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Jared Cannonier added to UFC 300? If so, against whom?