Jared Cannonier brought out the big guns at UFC 271 to stop fellow contender Derek Brunson and claim a dramatic come-from-behind victory, then issued the strongest possible callout for a shot at the middleweight title in his next outing.
Cannonier looked close to being finished in the first round against Brunson, who dropped him, then locked up a rear-naked choke before “The Killer Gorilla” was saved by the buzzer at the end of the round.
But he came storming back in the second round and hurt Brunson with a backfist that put him on shaky legs.
Then, after taking him to the canvas, a couple of powerful elbows knocked out Brunson and left Cannonier alone at the top of the contenders list at 185 pounds.
Recapping his finish, Brunson said, “It wasn’t just the elbow, it was that nice little backhand.
“I keep telling people, ‘You get in my face with that disrespect, you’re gonna catch the backhand. You come running up in my face, I’m gonna bust you in yours,’ and that’s exactly what I did.
“I turned ‘Blonde Brunson’ into ‘Blood Brunson,’ just like I said I was gonna do. It went down in H-Town, you know what I’m saying?!”
Then he launched into his very direct callout as he demanded fans talking to UFC president Dana White at cageside made sure the UFC boss was watching as he issued his demand.
“I want to say this while looking Dana in his eye,” he said as he shouted at fans at cageside to make sure White had his full attention.
“Hey Dana! I want that shot next! I get the shot next! It’s me. Nobody else, me! OK?!”