UFC middleweight Jared Cannonier: 'I'd be knocking on death's door if not for martial arts'

Jared Cannonier takes on Robert Whittaker in a number one contender fight for the Middleweight championship. Cannonier was called out by champion Israel Adesanya after his win against Paulo Costa, provided he wins his UFC 254 fight against the Australian.

Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the fight, he was asked how martial arts has changed his life:

There are different facets of being a martial artist. I don't want to use the word 'blessing', but it has been a blessing in my life. I'd probably be depressed if I wasn't doing martial arts.

I would probably be working a nine to five, depressed, maybe 350 lbs. Probably knocking on death's door, doing something stupid. Right now, I force my kids to do martial arts and I tell them all the things they can gain from it. Eventually, they have to experience all the things for themselves. It gives you confidence and through that, you can learn so much more.

.@RobWhittakerMMA says he's going to rip Jared Cannonier's face off at #UFC254…Too bad @killagorillamma has other plans for Saturday night. 👀Watch full video: https://t.co/s9zBd7xRq9 pic.twitter.com/u9GcgnsgqQ

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 20, 2020

Jared Cannonier takes on Robert Whittaker at UFC 254

Jared Cannonier is undoubtedly the dark horse of the Middleweight division, having racked up three finishes in his last three fights against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. However, Whittaker is probably a step up in competition for the American.

Robert Whittaker is inspected before the Middleweight title bout during UFC 243

The Australian is keen to get a rematch against champion Israel Adesanya after losing his belt to the Kiwi in October last year. The 29-year-old picked up an impressive victory against Darren Till earlier in the year.

The Australian is confident that he is better than Cannonier in all aspects of the sport. Speaking ahead of the fight, Whittaker said:

He’s tough. He hits hard. He is very well rounded, he’s resilient, that’s a key word with this guy…. I don’t see him having any angle that I’m not better than him at. I look forward to this fight, it’s 15 minutes which is a huge change. I look forward to leading the dance. Taking this fight wherever I want it to. I can take this fight whenever I want to. I have every skill-set under the sun to take this fight and beat him across the board.

"I'm going to put Cannonier away." 😳[ #UFC254 Countdown - Now on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/ijTBELEUvp

— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2020