A couple years ago, the idea of Hermansson and Cannonier battling to be on the short list of possible title challengers in the middleweight division was unthinkable, mostly because Cannonier debuted at heavyweight and was competing in the light heavyweight ranks until May , but also because Hermansson had just pushed his UFC record to and gotten back into the win column after losing to Thiago Santos with a come-from-behind win over Thales Leites.
These are two competitors who simply needed to find their groove and start trusting in their talents. First, he stepped up on short notice and ventured to Uruguay, where he handed Aleksei Kunchenko the first loss of his professional career. But beating Nelson is no easy task, as the only men to do so in the last five years have either gone on to fight for welterweight gold Demian Maia or are on the cusp of doing so in the case of streaking contenders Santiago Ponzinibbio and Leon Edwards.
The veteran from Iceland is just as happy to strike as he is to engage on the ground, and this matchup with Burns should provide him with the chance to cement his standing as one of the best welterweights in the world.
With a new batch of potential contenders working their way up the divisional ladder, Saint Preux has become the measuring stick for those looking to take the next step in the light heavyweight division. The former interim title challenger and longtime fixture in the pound weight class has spent the better part of the last three years sharing the Octagon with hopefuls looking to usurp his place in the pecking order.
Those who have gotten the better of him โ Ilir Latifi, Reyes, and Nikita Krylov โ all took another step forward, while those who could not โ Corey Anderson, Tyson Pedro โ were forced to regroup and try again.
