A long lay-off negotiated, an injury overcome, and now on Fight Island with a shot at UFC gold on the horizon, little wonder Jared Cannonier is raring to go.
"I'm chomping at the bit, man," the world's No 3-ranked middleweight tells The National ahead of his title eliminator against No 2 Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. "Antsy in my pantsy, if you will. I'm hungry; I'm ready to get in there.
“It’s good that I’m happy and healthy, that I get to go to work. I love what I do; I love the martial arts. And I get to do it on a very big stage and get paid at the same time, so I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
That position is one win from a championship fight. Should Cannonier see off former champion Whittaker in the penultimate bout at the series-concluding UFC 254 at Flash Forum, he moves to a match-up with reigning belt-holder Israel Adesanya. UFC president Dana White has confirmed as much. Adesanya, meanwhile, says he wants that fight next.
Thus, Cannonier considers Saturday, the rescheduling of a bout first slated for UFC 248 earlier this year, the “biggest fight of my life”.
“I know this is a No 1-contender fight, this is what it was supposed to be back in March,” he says. “Again, I’m just fortunate to remain in that position given I was injured and out for five-six months.
“No pressure. If anything, it’s all energy. Everything is energy and I can use that and I only want to use that which can make me better as a person. I’m just solid in that regard. If it’s good energy I’m going to take it, transform it, transmute it, do some mental, spiritual and physical alchemy and turn it into gold… turn lead into gold. And everybody likes gold.”
Gold, the one currently in Adesanya’s possession, represents the end goal. Not that Cannonier (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is getting sidetracked this weekend by what’s at stake.
“We’ve heard all the memes and monikers: ‘pressure makes diamonds’ and stuff like that,” he says. “So no pressure. I don’t even want to expand on it any more. Everybody’s expectations have no effect on what I feel or think. Nobody but me resides in this shell, so can’t nobody really affect me, unless I want them to.
“[Adesanya saying he wants me next] sort of helps; as far as my star, it pushes me closer to the title. Everybody knows the threat that I pose. They just see me as a big powerful puncher because I dropped down from heavyweight and all that stuff. That’s just good genes. All the stuff they’re saying, again, is only energy to fuel my fire.”
Against Whittaker, Cannonier might need all the motivation he can draw upon. The New Zealand-born Australian, the division’s No 1-ranked contender, relinquished the title to Adesanya 12 months ago, then withdrew from the March clash citing burn out.
However, Whittaker returned to the octagon in July, defeating the dangerous Darren Till on points at the inaugural Fight Island.
In contrast, "The Killa Gorilla" hasn’t fought in 13 months.
Whittaker beats Darren Till in Abu Dhabi
“I believe ring rust is more of a mental thing, or a lack of preparation,” Cannonier says. “I don’t have to deal with any of those aspects. My mind is as strong as diamonds and my preparation is top-notch. So I’m more than ready, physically and mentally, to get in there and work.
“As far as him having his fight very recently, I’m sure he’s very sharp in that regard – he’s just come out of camp and went straight into a new one. But who knows? We’ve heard him talking about getting burned out, so it may affect him more than it would affect me.
“In my mind this is going to be the best Robert we’ve ever seen and I’m going to approach it as that. I’m not really concerning myself with what he’s done in the last ‘X’ amount of days, months or whatever. I can’t add any of that extra stuff to it; I can’t use it."
Still, he recognises the obvious obstacle in front.
“Robert is an elite-level fighter," Cannonier says. "Whatever threats come with that, I don’t have to explain them or expound on them. I don’t want to bring them into words, speak them into the universe so that they can present themselves on fight night.
"Robert to me is going to be a really good punching bag, a really good kicking bag and he’s going to be the door that I blast through to get to the title.
“But he’s a former champ and all good and all that wonderful stuff. As a fighter, I got the utmost respect for him - the man is real, no antics, no acting. To me, that makes for an honourable fight. When you’re in there with someone you respect, I’m going to give him everything I have.”
The lengthy time away, since that Performance of the Night, second-round win against Jack Hermansson in Denmark 13 months ago and extended because of a troublesome torn pectoral muscle, has centred his sights.
On Saturday, Cannonier's looking for a powerful, and profitable, win.
“[The fans will see] a way better version of 'The Killa Gorilla’ that they saw in Copenhagen, I can assure you that," he says. "That’s for damn sure. One thing I’m bringing to this fight is I have no fear of anything or anyone.
“As far as my skills go, I’m way better, miles ahead of that person you saw last. Be prepared to see some devastating destruction. I’m going to demolish Robert.”
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
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- Grade 7 = grade A
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- Grade 4 = grade C
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- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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- Price: Not announced yet
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
