UFC star Jared Cannonier is turning over a new leaf -- literally -- telling TMZ Sports he's quit smoking weed for his upcoming main event fight with Marvin Vettori.
We talked to the 39-year-old "Killa Gorilla" just days before his UFC Fight Night scrap, going down Saturday night in Las Vegas, when Jared revealed the change in his lifestyle.
"For this camp I have abstained from smoking marijuana, so the clarity is there," Cannonier told us, explaining ... "More mental clarity for me. There is a physical aspect to it. You are putting foreign substances into you [body], especially your lungs."
And, because it's potentially a 25-minute scrap, Jared wants to be ready in the event he doesn't get an early stoppage.
"This is a 5-round fight, so I want to be able to push the pace for 5 hard rounds, make it 5 hard rounds for him, but just another 5 rounds for me," Cannonier told us.
"I want to push the pace, be powerful throughout the whole thing, if it goes 5 rounds. That's a big if, 'cause I plan on putting it on him start to finish. I don't see him lasting long. Mentally, physically, I feel like I'm in a much better place than I was in my last camp, so I'm ready to go!"
The fight has title implications, too. JC is ranked 4, while Marvin is the 3rd ranked middleweight.
Alex Periera is ranked 1, but is moving up the light heavyweight, so he's out of the mix at 185 pounds. Robert Whittaker (who is fighting Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 next month) is ranked 2nd. Israel Adesanya is the reigning champ.
With a win, Cannonier believes this puts him "right at the doorstep" of a title fight.
We also talked to 29-year-old Vettori, who, you guessed it, isn't exactly on the same page when it comes to how he sees the fight going.
"Me being young, and me being hungrier, the more the fight goes on, the more [Jared's] gonna struggle. And, I might catch him early, too. I heard he wants to come out like crazy, I welcome that. Please, bring it, 'cause damn sure you're not gonna get me out of there!"
As for what happens after a win over Jared, Marvin tells us he isn't sweating the future.
"I always felt it inside, I always knew a trilogy with Adesanya is gonna happen. So, I'm not even stressing about it. My whole focus is to go out and look amazing in front of Cannonier and the rest will fall into place."
Fight goes down Saturday in Vegas!