Jared Cannonier expects to KO Jack Hermansson in UFC Copenhagen main event

Jared Cannonier is now 2-0 in the middleweight division and set to headline his first UFC card. In the main event of UFC Copenhagen, the American will take on Jack Hermansson in a pivotal middleweight bout.

Cannonier, who is coming off of a very impressive TKO win over Anderson Silva, is eager to be the main event.

“It is exciting, to say the least. I’m not letting it distract me from my goal which is to go out there and fight and get the win,” Cannonier said to BJPENN.com. 

Getting the win will be a tough task for Jared Cannonier. Jack Hermansson showed in his last fight, a win over Jacare Souza, he is a tough fight for anyone. The win also impressed Cannonier.

“I took away that Jack is not scared to go anywhere the fight goes. He will strike, take you down, and clinch you. He has that patented guillotine choke,” he explained. “I feel the exact same way. I’m ready for this fight to go anywhere.”

Although Hermansson is coming off of a very impressive win, Jared Cannonier is confident in his skills. He expects to knock out the European fighter, and points to Hermansson’s fight Thiago Santos as one he has been studying a lot.

“I watched that fight a couple of times. I think I can do the same [knock Hermansson out],” he said. “Maybe even in more of an impressive matter.”

If he does get a win, Jared Cannonier would be ranked in the top-five, and with the middleweight title on the line a week after, he believes he’d be well positioned for a title shot. He knows there is a chance Paulo Costa is next, however, he believes he could jump the queue if he does something impressive.

The focus for Cannonier, of course, is just focused on winning the fight.

“I’m not necessarily worried about it, but I am conscious of it. With that being said, I perform the way I perform. Whether or not anything deems it spectacular or not is not of my concern. It is effective and that is what I am going to do,” Jared Cannonier explained. “There is no point about worrying about anything. Just let my performances speak for themselves. I am very confident in my talent and my team and in my training. Eventually, they will have no choice to give me a title shot. I am not going to sit here and wait forever though. I know when I deserve a title shot.”

As for when that title shot may come, Cannonier believes it will be in 2020.

“If I looked at the timeline now, as long as I keep doing what I know I can do, I will have a title shot by the middle to the end of 2020,” he said. 

But, for that to happen, he must beat Jack Hermansson at UFC Copenhagen.

“I see it playing out like this. Hermansson will move around a lot, and try to be aggressive,” Cannonier explained. “If I don’t knock him out when he comes forward, when he starts to tire down and stop moving I’ll knock him out. I only see myself winning.”

If he does just that, Cannonier hopes to fight in December and says he may even call someone out if he is victorious on Saturday.

“I would like to get another by the end of the year. December, that would be nice. We will see what happened. I may end up calling someone out if I win in Copenhagen,” he concluded. “There are only a few people in front of me.”

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This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/23/2019.