"That's hella scary ngl" - When fans reacted to Jared Cannonier walking down Ion Cutelaba with his hands down

Before transitioning to middleweight, Jared Cannonier made a notable stop in the light heavyweight division, where he secured a victory against the tenacious Ion Cutelaba. 'The Killa Gorilla' faced off against Moldovan native on the main card of 'The Ultimate Fighter' 24 Finale in December 2016.

In the opening round, Cutelaba unleashed a flurry of strikes, while Cannonier countered by pressing him against the fence. Cutelaba managed to throw his rival to the canvas briefly before being swept.

In the second round, both fighters exchanged punches before 'The Hulk' secured two takedowns to stifle Cannonier's momentum. Despite Cannonier's solid jab, Cutelaba swiftly responded with another takedown. However, 'The Killa Gorilla' ended the round on a high note, landing punches while in a dominant position.

In the third and final round, 'The Hulk' secured another takedown after a quiet start. Despite both fighters quickly getting back up, the former 185-pound title challenger dominated with potent punches. Displaying confidence, Cannonier taunted his opponent by walking forward with his hands down, inviting retaliation. The judges unanimously scored the bout in favor of Cannonier, with scores of 29-28 on all cards.

Check out the video of the final moments of the fight below:

Jared Cannonier walks down Ion Cutelaba with his hands down byu/slingoo inufc

Cannonier's decision to showboat in front of Cutelaba sparked debate among the MMA community, with some applauding the American's confidence while others questioned the wisdom of his actions.

One fan wrote:

"Holy sh*t... knowing how cocky ion is, this probably really hurt his feelings."

Another wrote:

"Maybe not the most effective strategy Joe."

Another commented:

"That's hella scary ngl."

Check out some more reactions below:

Credits: r/ufc on Reddit

Cannonier is set to take on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Louisville, which is scheduled to take place at the KFC Yum! Center in Kentucky this Saturday.

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When Jared Cannonier reflected on walking down Ion Cutelaba

During a post-fight interview with MMA Junkie in December 2016, Jared Cannonier weighed in on his performance against Ion Cutelaba.

'The Killa Gorilla' mentioned that while he hadn't planned to engage in a brawl initially, he found himself fueled by confidence in the final moments of their bout:

"I ain’t scared to take no shots. But they will be scared once I start hitting them. Once they start missing, and I start hitting them, they’re gonna go backward. I put that twinkie on a stick and dangled it in his face to see if he bit, and he bit a few times. I need to work on being able to capitalize on that a little bit more effectively."