UFC 254 will be co-headlined by a middleweight title eliminator. Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier will battle it out to see who will be next in line for a middleweight title shot.
Robert Whittaker
Whittaker is 1-0 since losing his title to Isreal Adesanya in October of 2019. With a decision victory over Darren Till at the UFC’s first trip to Fight Island. Whittaker should feel somewhat counted out leading into this fight. Adesanya made sure to call out Jared Cannonier after his last victory. The Champ stated that if Cannonier wins against Whittaker, that Cannonier should receive the next title shot, ignoring the fact that Whittaker has very good chances of winning this fight. Whittaker is 9-1 since moving up to middleweight back in 2014. He has finished 14 out of his 21 victories and looked better than ever in his win over Till.
Jared Cannonier
Cannonier has been running through the middleweight division since he joined in 2018. With three straight TKO wins over David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. Nine out of Cannonier’s wins are via TKO or knockout. It really looks like Cannonier found his true home at middleweight and his power was able to transition well into the division.
UFC 254 – The Matchup
This matchup will come down to one big question, How will Whittaker deal with the power of Cannonier? When asking that question we must think about the fact that Whittaker has fought Yoel Romero twice and was victorious in both fights.
The Reaper has shown time and time again that he is able to outwork guys who have incredible power. Some would say that Whittaker’s best shot would be to take the fight to the ground.
Cannonier, on the other hand, has never been submitted. He has fought great wrestlers in David Branch, Glover Teixeira and Shawn Jordan and none were able to submit him.
What are your predictions for this weekend’s co-main event? Let us know in the comments down below. Tune into UFC 254 this Saturday, October 24th live on PPV.
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