Israel Adesanya scored a dominant decision win over Jared Cannonier at the UFC 276 headliner, recording his fifth successful title defense at 185lbs. 'The Last Stylebender' expectedly outclassed Cannonier on the feet and nullified whatever takedown attempts were made by 'The Killa Gorilla'.
Both fighters came out trading leg kicks, and the champion also used calculated teeps to keep Cannonier at bay. Although 'The Killa Gorilla' tried his best to pressurize Adesanya, the Kiwi's strikes found their target more often than not. An unintentional eye poke from Adesanya halted the action for a while in round two but didn't seem to affect the fight's momentum.
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According to the unofficial stats, Cannonier came back stronger in round three and outstruck the champ. However, it was an incredibly close round and could have gone both ways.
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Adesanya clearly won the championship rounds, simply outclassing the challenger in the stand-up game. While Cannonier managed to get into a clinch multiple times, he could barely land any substantial damage. 'The Last Stylebender' made yet another statement with the scorecards reading 49-46, 49-46, 50-45 in his favor.
UFC 276: Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier - Main card results
Israel Adesanya def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 50-45)
Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (50-45 x3)
Alex Pereira def. Sean Strickland via KO (2:36 of Round 1)
Bryan Barberena def. Robbie Lawler via TKO (4:47 of Round 2)
Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley ruled no-contest (accidental foul)
UFC 276: Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier - Prelims results
Jalin Turner def. Brad Riddell via submission [guillotine] (0:45 of Round 1)
Jim Miller def. Donald Cerrone via submission [guillotine] (1:32 of Round 2)
Ian Garry def. Gabe Green via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Dricus Du Plessis def. Brad Tavares via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Andre Muniz def. Uriah Hall via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Maycee Barber def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Julija Stoliarenko def. Jessica-Rose Clark via submission [armbar] (0:42 of Round 1)