Christian Leroy Duncan expects best version of Jared Cannonier, even at 42
· Yahoo Sports
Age is nothing but a number in Christian Leroy Duncan's eyes.
In the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 281 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Paramount+), Duncan (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) takes on Jared Cannonier in a middleweight bout. Not only does Cannonier (18-9 MMA, 11-9 UFC) have more fights in the UFC alone than Duncan has had in his entire career, "The Killa Gorilla" has fought the best of the best.
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"This will be my most experienced fighter that I've fought," Duncan told reporters at media day (via Cageside Press). "A guy that's fought for the title, as you mentioned, and fought some of the best in the division. So, I look forward to pulling off a good performance against him, as he deserves as such a respectable fighter here in the UFC."
With an experience gap, oftentimes comes an age gap. Duncan, 30, is 12 years younger than Cannonier, but he's not viewing his youth as an advantage in this matchup. Cannonier, who started his UFC career as a heavyweight, always shows up in great shape as a middleweight contender.
"You say his age is 42, but not many 42-year-olds look like Jared Cannonier," Duncan said. "He's well-experienced, and over the years he's kind of refined the way that he fights. It hasn't changed much, but he's very good at what he does. I'm treating him that way. I approached preparing for this fight as if I'm fighting the best version of Jared."
Cannonier is 1-3 over his last four fights, although his competition has been against the top in the division. Duncan, on the other hand, is still learning and growing as a fighter, who didn't grow up in the martial arts world. As he looks to extend his winning streak to five, we may see the best version of Duncan yet.-
"I feel as if I'm constantly evolving day by day, week by week," Duncan said. "You could see me one week, and you see a complete different version the next, you know? I'm just evolving at a fast rate. I've got a good team around me, good training partners, and a mindset that's going to take me to that contender position, and then to the title."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Christian Leroy Duncan expects best version of Jared Cannonier, even at 42