'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#2. Tai Tuivasa vs. former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane
Trending
Tai Tuivasa solidified himself as a heavyweight contender with his emphatic knockout win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 271. He came into the fight as the No.11-ranked heavyweight going up against the No.3-ranked and was viewed as the underdog. He hadn’t been in a battle of that magnitude in his career. Furthermore, fighting in ‘The Black Beast’s' hometown of Houston, Texas was challenging.
After the first round went in Lewis’ favor, ‘Bam Bam’ regrouped and let his hands go. He landed powerful strikes in the clinch and dropped ‘The Black Beast’ with an elbow to earn a second-round knockout.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Tuivasa facing former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane could be the next step for the popular Australian knockout artist. ‘Bon Gamin’ is coming off his title loss to Francis Ngannou. Prior to the loss, Gane had defeated Lewis for the interim title. It would be interesting to see whether ‘Bam Bam’ could replicate that performance against an elite technical striker like Gane.
#1. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier
After what transpired at UFC 271, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier is clearly the fight to book next. ‘The Last Stylebender’ retained his championship by defeating Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision in a rematch of their 2019 bout. The champion was taken down a few times, but managed to get back to his feet without taking damage.
After ‘The Killa Gorilla’ knocked out Brunson, he made sure to get Dana White’s attention during his post-fight interview. He told him he’s deserving of the next title shot and White agreed. During his post-fight press conference, the champion Adesanya echoed those sentiments by saying he was rooting for Cannonier to defeat Brunson. The reason being was that he had a few rematches and wanted a new challenger for his next title defense.
‘The Last Stylebender’ mentioned that he’d like to fight again in June. Both fighters didn’t absorb a significant amount of damage, so that’d be a realistic timeframe for their title fight.
