Now we’ve come to the main event of UFC 276
We have Israel Adesanya, who is arguably one of the best middleweights of all time, versus Jared Cannonier, who has fought through some adversity and multiple weight classes to get to his first UFC title shot.
A lot of people think that we will see another clear win for Adesanya.
Hopefully, we get a good fight from both men.
Check out the full Adesanya vs Cannonier recap below.
Round 1
No glove touch, Adesanya starts firing leg kicks as Cannonier stays patient and tries to close the distance. Both fighters are taking their time before engaging much, with Adesanya getting the better of these early exchanges with his jab and leg kicks being the most effective weapons. Good work from Adesanya to keep Cannonier at a distance.
Round 2
The second round starts with more feinting, but Adesanya is starting to go for bigger shots and is still landing good leg kicks. Adesanya is starting to land some big right-hands. An accidental eye-poke from Adesanya sees a brief pause in the action, but Cannonier wants to get right back to it. The round ends with Adesanya putting Cannonier on his back foot and some taunting after the round ended.
Round 3
There is a bit of swelling around Cannonier’s right eye that is more obvious at the start of this round. A level change leads to Cannonier landing a few good hooks and briefly clinching before separating and more pressure from Adesanya.
Cannonier is back to pressuring Adesanya and is having more success with his punches. The round ends with some decent clinch work from Cannonier and a knee from Adesanya.
Round 4
Both fighters are starting to pick up the pace and are each finding some success, with Adesanya seeming to have a slight edge in the exchanges.
Cannonier is the more aggressive fighter towards the end of the round, pushing for the clinch and trying to land a big shot on the break.
Refreshing honesty from Cannonier’s corner about possibly being down on the scorecards.
Round 5
Cannonier is looking more urgent with his pressure but is still not throwing much of anything.
Cannonier clinches up and pushes Adesanya to the fence.
Nothing comes from that clinch and Adesanya lands a good jab after the break.
Cannonier lands a good shot and clinches again. The round ends with Adesanya pushing the action
Result: Israel Adesanya wins by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
In his post-fight interview, Adesanya called out his former kickboxing opponent and fellow UFC middleweight Alex Pereira who was sitting cageside, saying that he’ll “put him on skates like Elsa in Frozen”. That could definitely be the next fight to make since Adesanya has cleared out the division and Pereira just knocked out No. 4-ranked Sean Strickland earlier on the card.
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