"He can damage some guys here, but stay out of my face" - Jared Cannonier warns Khamzat Chimaev about potential middleweight move

Jared Cannonier (left), Khamzat Chimaev (right)

No.2-ranked middleweight Jared Cannonier has warned Khamzat Chimaev of a move up to middleweight.

Speaking to Helen Yee, the Texan-born fighter advised Chimaev to stay away from him if he is to move up a weight class.

Initially admitting that 'Borz' could make an impact at middleweight, Cannonier maintained that it would be in his best interest to look elsewhere in the division and stay out of his way.

"If he comes up, he can definitely do some damage up here, as long as he stays out of my face."

Cannonier followed his warning with:

"If he comes to me, he'll deal with what I do to everybody. It's not about what you present to me, it's what I present to you."

Cannonier's statements are not without the facts behind them either. Despite Chimaev's successful run so far in the UFC, 'The Killa Gorilla' has a lot of fights under his belt and an impressive resume of wins.

Six of his last eight victories have been finishes and the American holds triumphs over notable names, such as Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson and Kelvin Gastelum.

You can watch the full Jared Cannonier interview here:

Jared Cannonier is expected to challenge for Israel Adesanya's gold next

Cannonier has been on an impressive run lately, sporting a 5-1 record in his last six fights. He's built a two-fight winning streak since losing to Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision at UFC 254.

The American's two performances since, a decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum and a nasty elbow KO of Derek Brunson that earned him a POTN bonus, have moved him up to No.2 in the middleweight rankings. He's expected to be next in line for a shot at middleweight gold.

Speaking on The MMA Hour, Adesanya confirmed that he had spoken to Jared Cannonier and the two mutually agreed to a fight if 'The Killa Gorilla' could get past Derek Brunson.

You can watch Israel Adesanya's full interview on The MMA Hour here:

.@stylebender says Jared Cannonier is next, but he has "other plans" for Sean Strickland 👀 #TheMMAHour

▶️ youtu.be/MoZ7svTrynw https://t.co/dwZWBU1XpJ

Sean Strickland was also mentioned as a potential matchup for 'The Last Stylebender', but the middleweight champ was quick to squash those rumors and confirmed he had "other plans" for Strickland, who himself is on a six-fight win streak. 'Tarzan' is now set to face Alex Pereira in the summer.

There has been no official announcement yet by the UFC on when the two will battle it out for middleweight gold, despite both fighters confirming to multiple sources that they are willing to fight each other.