From being a heavyweight to transitioning to a middleweight, Jared Cannonier‘s MMA journey has been an interesting one. He’s been able to forge a pretty respectable career even though he never won a UFC title since joining Dana White‘s promotion. However, Cannonier’s journey in mixed martial arts hasn’t been smooth sailing, as he has suffered some injury setbacks more times than once.

Injuries can create a 180-degree turn of momentum in UFC fighters’ careers. As such, there were a few instances when some serious injuries derailed the 40-year-old’s consistency. But what are those instances? Let’s find out as he makes his return at UFC Fight Night 251 against Gregory Rodrigues at the Apex.

What injuries did Jared Cannonier have?

Well, one of the most serious injuries that happened to Jared Cannonier with his issue with his knee. It was a serious MCL tear, which he informed the UFC about when he was in their plans to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the UAE at UFC 294. For context, Cannonier was actually scheduled to fight Roman Dolidze, but in the wake of Paulo Costa‘s pullout from the fight against ‘Borz’, the UFC rang him up to see if ‘The Killa Gorilla’ would step up.

Unfortunately, Jared Cannonier couldn’t after accepting the fight, as he would later blow his knee during training on the same day. “It was heart-wrenching, almost heart-breaking. I got the call the day I injured the leg. I get an opportunity and lose it all in the span of two or three hours; it’s not fun to deal with,” Cannonier told UFC.com.

Besides the MCL injury, Jared Cannonier also stuffed a torn pectoral muscle injury days before his UFC 248 clash against Darren Till. In fact, that fight was already in jeopardy since the Liverpudlian was having a hard time coming to terms with the UFC when it came to his contract situation. Also, Till was dealing with certain issues catering to his US Visa. But the final nail in the coffin appeared to be Cannonier’s injury, which diminished all chances of that fight taking place.

Cannonier would have surgery thereafter and would sit out for at least six months before returning to training again. Meanwhile, the former middleweight title contender suffered one more injury for which he had to undergo under the knife on more than one occasion.

Cannonier’s broken arm injury

Jared Cannonier and former champion Robert Whittaker had an impressive clash during the no-fan era at UFC 254. Yes, it was the same night that Khabib Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves, but it was a bad night for Cannonier, who not only lost to Whittaker but also broke his hand after attempting to block a kick. The injury was so bad that ‘The Killa Gorilla’ had to get operated twice.

“That didn’t go exactly how I wanted but my spirits remain high and I’m happy with how I fought all things considered. The very first kick he threw broke or fractured my left ulna I couldn’t find my grove and adjust quickly to get the W so I’ll take my L with pride,” Jared Cannonier wrote on Instagram. Well, he returned strong and won his next fight to get back in the winning column.

Well, Jared Cannonier would be hoping to avoid getting injured and losing a fight given that he’s already on a 2-fight losing skid. Let us know your thoughts on the fight coming up and the middleweight star’s struggle with injuries in the comments down below.