Jack Hermansson thinks London bout vs. Elias Theodorou paves way to rankings

There are many fighters who put little or no value on the UFC’s official rankings, but Jack Hermansson is not one of them.

Fresh of his first-round finish of Gerald Meerschaert at UFC on FOX 31, Hermansson, who holds a 5-2 record in the Octagon, underlined the importance of gaining a spot in the promotion’s rankings.

“I think it’s really important because the UFC tend to match people in the rankings with each other,” Hermansson told Eurobash.

“If you’re not in the rankings, it’s unlikely that you’ll be climbing towards a title shot, which is my goal, so I want to get my name up there as soon as possible. Hopefully, I’ll be there soon. I’m just outside [the rankings] now, so we’ll see. I guess it depends on how well other people do, but I can it happening in the near future.”

The former Cage Warriors champion claims that he called for fights with Brad Tavares and Elias Theodorou, who both hold slots in the middleweight top 15, in his Milwaukee post-fight interview in an effort to put himself in a position to claim his own position in the rankings.

“I mentioned in my post-fight interview that Brad Tavares and Elias Theodorou would be good opponents. Maybe Derek Brunson and David Branch, there are a bunch of guys there that I could fight. I would love to fight anyone inside of the rankings,” he said.

Hermansson further identified Theodorou as a fighter that he likes his chances against.

“He’s an alright fighter and his special skill is to just get the win. He finds his way in a fight and he just continues to win and win…I don’t know how many UFC wins he’s got now. Many of his fights go to decision, but he is a guy who wins a lot of fights, so it could be a good one to show that I can beat someone in the top 15.”

Ideally, “The Joker” would like to face the Canadian on the UFC’s annual London show, which takes place on Mar. 16.

“I think the most likely thing at the moment is the London card in March. That way I have a little bit of time to relax now and get a good camp in. I have a good fan base in the U.K. because I’ve had many fights there and also, it will be easy for people from Norway and Sweden to travel there to come and watch. It would be a good event to be a part of.”