Jared Cannonier issues brutal reality check about Islam Makhachev's middleweight aspirations: "harder to wrestle somebody that big"

Veteran middleweight fighter Jared Cannonier is one of only two UFC stars to have knockout victories in three weight classes, the other being Conor McGregor. As someone who knows one or two things about fighting in higher weight classes, Cannonier gave Islam Makhachev a reality check on his middleweight title aspirations in a recent interview with Helen Yee.

The 40-year-old believes Makhachev has the skill to compete at middleweight, but warned of the difficulty of wrestling similarly skilled fighters but heavier.

'The Killa Gorilla' is confident the lightweight champion's wrestling acumen will translate well. However, he pointed out that the middleweights weigh more than 220lbs inside the octagon, significantly larger than Makhachev, who is a big lightweight.

Cannonier has trained with the likes of Benson Henderson, a former UFC champion, at the MMA Lab, and thus has first-hand knowledge of the capabilities of elite lightweights. He said:

"As a martial artist, I think that he [Islam Makhachev] can definitely do good against an 185er, I believe. But, I don't know, it's different in competition. It'd be different in competition. So, he could prevail, not to say that he can't, but I don't know. The chances would be a lot slimmer at 85 than at 70 because that's a bigger gap. And I'm sure he's a big guy himself, but the 55ers that I've worked with can definitely put up a good fight."

"You know what I mean? I trained with one of the best lightweights in the world, in Benson Henderson, among a few other good lightweights who we have at the MMA Lab. So, I believe as long as you're skilled, you're able to contend, and he has definitely shown that he's well-skilled, especially at wrestling. It definitely be harder to wrestle somebody that big, though, a 220-pound man, and be successful, especially if the man is as trained, you know, as trained as him, I guess. Yeah," he added.

Check out Jared Cannonier's comments below (8:46):

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Gilbert Burns gives concerning news for Jared Cannonier

Jared Cannonier's upcoming fight is against Gregory 'Robocop' Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Vegas 102. Coming off two consecutive losses, Cannonier's ranking will be on the line against the unranked Rodrigues.

Speaking on the Show Me the Money podcast, Gilbert Burns, who will be cornering his compatriot against the American, predicted a dominant victory for 'Robocop', saying:

"He [Gregory Rodrigues] is in shape. He's ready. I see him getting a dominant win, you know. I think, and he should, you know, because he's young, he's ready, he's hungry."

Check out Gilbert Burns' comments below (50:51):