Jared Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of November 15, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cannonier began his amateur mixed martial arts career in early 2011, winning his first two fights by knockout. In June 2011, he made his professional MMA debut in Alaska. He fought sporadically over the next five years, amassing a record of 7–0.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2015

In October 2014, it was announced that Cannonier had signed with the UFC. In his debut he faced

Shawn Jordan Shawn Martin Jordan (born October 24, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Professional Fighters League's Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, Jordan has also formerly competed for ...

in a Heavyweight bout at

UFC 182 ''UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 3, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between the champion at that ...

on January 3, 2015. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Replacing injured

Matt Van Buren Matt Van Buren (born June 12, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Van Buren has also fought for Bellator and was a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 19. ...

, Cannonier was scheduled to face Jonathan Wilson at

UFC Fight Night 73 ''UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 73'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 8, 2015, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Background The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bo ...

on August 8, 2015. In turn, Cannonier was forced to pull out due to an injury and was replaced by Chris Dempsey.

2016

After an 18-month long layoff, Cannonier returned to face

Cyril Asker Cyril Asker (born December 24, 1985) is a French mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Avignon, France, Asker began training in MMA at the age of 18. B ...

on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos. He defeated Asker by knockout due to a combination of elbows and punches. The win also earned Cannonier his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. In his third fight for the promotion, Cannonier moved down a weight class to the light heavyweight division. He faced

Ion Cuțelaba Ion Nicolae Cuțelaba (born 14 December 1993) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Chișinău, Cuțelaba began traini ...

on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Cannonier won the fight by unanimous decision. The bout also won Cannonier his second consecutive bonus award as he and Cuțelaba won ''Fight of the Night''.

2017

As the first fight of his new six-fight contract, Cannonier faced

Glover Teixeira Glover Lucas Teixeira (; born 28 October 1979) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champi ...

on February 11, 2017, at

UFC 208 ''UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 11, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background The event was originally scheduled to take ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Cannonier was expected to face

Steve Bossé Steve Bossé (born July 29, 1981) is a Canadian professional boxer currently competing in the heavyweight division. Bossé is a former mixed martial artist in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC and was also known as an infamous hockey en ...

on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. However, Bossé was removed from the fight just days before the event and was replaced by promotional newcomer Nick Roehrick. Cannonier won the fight via TKO in the third round. Cannonier was expected to face

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro ...

on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox 26. However, on October 19, it was announced that Nogueira was pulled from the card after being notified by

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

of a potential doping violation. Cannonier would face

Jan Błachowicz Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Cham ...

instead. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

2018

Cannonier faced Dominick Reyes on May 19, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 129 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Background The even ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Cannonier was expected to face

Alessio Di Chirico Alessio Di Chirico (born December 12, 1989) is an Italian former mixed martial artist who competed in Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Di Chirico was born in Rome, Italy. He attended University of Fo ...

in a middleweight bout on November 17, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 140 ''UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 140'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 17, 2018 at Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss in Buenos Aires ...

. However, it was reported on October 19, 2018, that Cannonier would face David Branch at

UFC 230 ''UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bo ...

instead. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award.

2019

Cannonier faced former UFC Middleweight champion

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...

on May 11, 2019, at

UFC 237 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round after a kick to Silva's right leg rendered him unable to continue. Cannonier faced

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion i ...

on September 28, 2019, in the main event of

UFC on ESPN+ 18 ''UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 160'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 28, 2019 at Royal Arena in Cop ...

. He was victorious via second-round TKO. The win also earned Cannonier his third ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award.

2020

Cannonier was scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker on March 7, 2020, at

UFC 248 ''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

. However, on January 15, 2020, it was announced Whittaker pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons. Cannonier was slated to serve as a backup fighter for the UFC Middleweight Championship fight between

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

and

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight divi ...

on March 7, 2020, however, on February 14, 2020, Cannonier announced he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and expects to be out of action for six months. Cannonier faced Robert Whittaker on October 24, 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded w ...

. Cannonier lost the fight via unanimous decision. After the fight, Cannonier revealed in an Instagram post that he suffered a broken arm from a kick that Whittaker landed in the first round.

2021

Cannonier was scheduled to face

Paulo Costa Paulo Henrique Costa (born 21 April 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight ...

on August 21, 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 29 ''UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 29'' and ''UFC Vegas 34'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 21, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterp ...

. However, on June 4, Costa withdrew from the bout, claiming he never signed the bout agreement and had issues with his payment, while not confirming them as the reason for his withdrawal. It was later confirmed that

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

replaced Costa. Cannonier won the fight via unanimous decision.

2022

As the first bout of his new six-fight contract, Cannonier was scheduled to face

Derek Brunson Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 5, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

on January 22, 2022, at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

. However, for undisclosed reasons the bout was moved to

UFC 271 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champi ...

on February 12, 2022. He won the fight via knockout in round two. The win earned him a ''

'' bonus award. Cannonier faced

for the

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

on July 2, 2022, at

UFC 276 ''UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 2, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Cannonier was scheduled to face

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

on October 15, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 212 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, the bout was scrapped after Strickland withdrew due to a finger infection. The pair was rebooked for

UFC Fight Night 216 ''UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74'' and ''UFC Vegas 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 17, 2022, at the ...

on December 17, 2022. Cannonier won the fight via split decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) **

(Four times) *Alaska Fighting Championship **AFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 16–6 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, KO (elbows) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:29 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Robert Whittaker , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

, TKO (leg kicks) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , David Branch , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:39 ,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Dominick Reyes , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, Chile , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Nick Roehrick , TKO (elbows) , The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:08 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center;", 8–1 ,

, KO (punches and elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos , , style="text-align:center;", 1 , style="text-align:center;", 2:44 ,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, Croatia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Tony Lopez , Decision (split) , Alaska Fighting Championship 104 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Anchorage, Alaska, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jermaine Haughton , TKO (punches) , Alaska Fighting Championship 102 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 , Anchorage, Alaska, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Stephen Waalkes , Submission (rear-naked choke) , AK Entertainment: Tuesday Night Fights , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Joshua Ofiu , TKO (punches) , Alaska Fighting Championship 97 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 , Anchorage, Alaska, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Matt Herringshaw , TKO (submission to punches) , Alaska Cage Fighting: Tribute to Veterans , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jason Coomes , Submission (armbar) , Alaska Fighting Championship 85 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 , Anchorage, Alaska, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alton Prince , TKO (punches) , Midnight Sun Mayhem 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannonier, Jared 1984 births Living people African-American mixed martial artists American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Dallas Mixed martial artists from Texas Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people