New Delhi: Jared Cannonier will be looking to end his two-fight winless streak when he takes on Gregory Rodrigues at the UFC Vegas 102 at the Apex later this week. The Cannonier vs Rodrigues fight will headline the fight card at UFC Vegas 102 which is the next Fight Night after the massive success of UFC 312 in Sydney where Dricus du Plessis beat Sean Strickland to defend his middleweight title.
Despite having lost his last two matches American UFC star Cannonier has expressed confidence ahead of his fight against Rodrigues and has made a bold claim. Cannonier believes he can potentially win his fight against Rodrigues via knockout as he is aware of his opponent’s weaknesses and knows he needs to hit hard to win.
“I plan on knocking him out, I think it will be a TKO, possibly in the second or third round,” Cannonier told Sportskeeda.
“He tends to slow down a little bit, I’m working really hard on my cardio for that not to be an issue, I plan on not taking any damage, I plan on being hard to hit, and hitting him as many times as possible. I’m always hoping for the best, my last two fights haven’t gone that way. But, I’m always hoping for the best. I’m always working and training to improve and to bring the best that’s in my mind to reality,” he added.
Cannonier, who shifted from light heavyweight to middleweight at 185lbs, will be heading into the fight against Rodrigues on the back of defeats against Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in his last two matches, respectively. The American MMA start made an exceptional start to his middleweight career after switching to the lower weight category.
Cannonier won four of his first five fights in the middleweight category. However, he has since suffered back-to-back defeats in his last two matches and will be desperately looking to return to winnings ways against unranked Rodrigues at the UFC Vegas 102.
Unranked Gregory Rodrigues might give hard time to Cannonier
Brazilian Rodrigues might be unranked currently in UFC middleweight but he has won his last three matches in a row and is likely to give Cannonier a hard time in the octagon. Rodrigues will be looking to win the main event to boost his rankings in the UFC and further enhance his reputation. Rodrigues has a 16-5 record in professional MMA with 10 victories via knockouts.
UFC 102 Vegal will take place in Vegas on Sunday, February 16. The fight between Cannonier and Rodrigues which is the main card is expected to get underway around 5:30 AM IST.
Jared Cannonier will take on Gregory Rodrigues in the main event of the UFC Vegas 102 this week. Cannonier has made a huge claim ahead of his showdown against Rodrigues. UFC Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
