{"id":39368,"date":"2026-07-17T07:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Jared-Cannonier-explains-why-being-UFCs-gatekeeper-isnt-an-insult-201952"},"modified":"2026-07-17T07:55:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:55:28","slug":"jared-cannonier-explains-why-being-ufcs-gatekeeper-isnt-an-insult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/jared-cannonier-explains-why-being-ufcs-gatekeeper-isnt-an-insult\/","title":{"rendered":"Jared Cannonier explains why being UFC’s gatekeeper isn’t an insult"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Jared
\nCannonier<\/a> isn’t bothered by the impression that he’s become a
\ngatekeeper in the
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a>‘s middleweight division.<\/p>\n

A former title challenger and longtime contender at 185 pounds,
\nCannonier will look to defend his place in the rankings when he
\nmeets rising prospect Christian
\nLeroy Duncan<\/a> at
\nUFC Oklahoma City<\/a> on July 18. Rather than viewing the matchup
\nas a springboard for Duncan, “The Killa Gorilla” sees it as another
\nopportunity to prove he still belongs among the division’s
\nelite.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jared Cannonier says facing Christian Leroy Duncan is another
\nchance to protect his UFC middleweight ranking and restart his
\ntitle pursuit<\/h2>\n

While many veteran fighters see being a divisional gatekeeper as a
\nnegative, Cannonier is taking it in his stride. The 42-year-old
\nacknowledges that he\u2019s struggled with consistency in his last few
\nbouts, which set up the clash against the 30-year-old Brit riding a
\nfour-fight win streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo here I am, the guy who hasn\u2019t been able to win as consistently
\nas I would like,\u201d Cannonier said. \u201cSo therefore, I am having to
\nwelcome these guys to the division.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then claimed that he appreciates the UFC for the booking, seeing
\nit as an opportunity to return to the win column and potentially
\nmove closer to the title picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that\u2019s been my career for the last couple of years,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cAnd, you know, these are really good opportunities for me to
\nmaintain my position and start redirecting myself back towards that
\ntitle. So, for that, I am appreciative of the company for this
\nmatchup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannonier has lost three of his last four Octagon outings and his
\nUFC record stands at 11-9.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

\u201cI’ve only gotten better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jared
\nCannonier<\/a> is confident he has everything in his locker to take
\nout Christian
\nLeroy Duncan<\/a> and cement his spot in the middleweight
\nrankings.<\/p>\n

How To Watch #UFCOKC<\/a>
\n\u27a1\ufe0f: https:\/\/t.co\/8hweKmNBEY<\/a><\/p>\n

Fight by Fight Preview \u27a1\ufe0f: https:\/\/t.co\/0MjpxJwXDM<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BwstQxtxZd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 UFC News (@UFCNews)
\nJuly 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/center> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jared Cannonier isn’t bothered by the impression that he’s become a gatekeeper in the Ultimate Fighting Championship‘s middleweight division. A former title challenger and longtime contender at 185 pounds, Cannonier will look to defend his place in the rankings when he meets rising prospect Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18. Rather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}