Jared Cannonier may be outside what many consider a fighter's "prime years," but the 40-year-old isn't stressing Father Time ... telling TMZ Sports he's taking things one fight at a time, and still sees title shots in his future!
We caught up with the fifth-ranked UFC middleweight before his main event contest with 12th-ranked middleweight contender, Caio Borralho.
Cannonier -- who celebrated his 40th trip around the Sun in March -- says he isn't thinking about how much longer he plans on fighting.
"One fight at a time," he said. "I don't like to make plans. People are like, 'What are you doing later today,' and I'm like, I don't know, depending on how I feel."
A win over Borralho would likely put Cannonier another step closer to fighting for the title against champ Dricus Du Plessis -- though he doesn't think about it much, despite having a win against DDP's likely next opponent, Sean Strickland.
"Again, focusing just on what's ahead of me," he said. "Not what might or may not be or what other people are thinking."
Though, it wasn't always like that for Jared. He says focusing on the title contributed to his last loss (by TKO) to Nassourdine Imavov.
"After losing the fight, as unfortunate as it was, it feels like it's been a bit of a weight lifted off me," Cannonier said. "A little self-imposed stress. I can see that in hindsight, and I don't want that to happen again when I get back to that position and beyond."
Borralho, 16-1, and in the midst of a 6-fight win streak will be a good test for the longtime UFC fighter! 👊