RIO DE JANEIRO – Jared Cannonier knows the deal. He’s going into Brazil, where they cheer passionately for their countrymen and aren’t necessarily friendly to the opposition.
This effect is only magnified when you fight a legend of the game in Anderson Silva, which is what Cannonier (11-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) will do in Saturday’s middleweight co-headliner at UFC 237.
But the MMA Lab competitor knows this and insists he isn’t sweating what type of reaction he’ll get when he steps into the cage.
“I don’t have to deal with it,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “That’s them staying some stuff, and I don’t speak Portuguese.”
That sort of focus has already gotten Cannonier this far. The way he sees it, he’s not going out there to call undue attention onto himself, or to say something controversial for it’s own sake.
Cannonier is about winning, moving toward a title shot and making money. If you like that, cool. If not, also cool.
“This will be my ninth fight,” Cannonier said. “I’m not flamboyant or anything like that. I’m not going to sit here and think of an answer and figure out what is going to make the people say ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh,’ and I’m not here to please the crowd. I’m here purely to please myself. I love to fight, I love to train, I love doing it on the biggest stage in the world, too. That’s a blessing right there.
“Again, my goal is wins on top of wins on top of wins, which will eventually lead to a belt, which will, sooner rather than later, lead to my ultimate goal, which is financial liberation.”
And if Cannonier, who garnered plenty of attention by knocking out former two-division WSOF champ David Branch in his middleweight debut at UFC 230, goes out and defeats the legendary Silva in Brazil, that will be his biggest step toward his goals to date.
“Just fighting him is bringing a lot of attention,” Cannonier said. “But beating him is going to bring a whole lot more attention. What else it could potentially bring me closer to a fight, especially a dominant performance over a guy like that is definitely going to raise some eyebrows.
“I’ve said it before. The UFC definitely already sees the potential. It’s just a matter of figuring out what that potential is for everyone else, and I know what that potential is. You know that’s me sitting at the very tip top of the hill.”
UFC 237 takes place Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
For more on UFC 237, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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