Knockdown Daily 7/3/22: Israel Adesanya Defends Middleweight Bout Against Jared Cannonier
Results from UFC 276 lead the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is all about UFC 276.
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Israel Adesanya Earns Decision Nod Over Jared Cannonier To Defend UFC Middleweight Championship For Fifth Time
Israel Adesanya kept his dominant run as UFC Middleweight Champion alive on Saturday night, cruising to a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier.
The win headlined UFC 276 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Adesanya’s win came from his ability to out-land Cannonier throughout.
The champion blocked takedown attempts from Cannonier in the fight and frequently landed his strikes during stand-up exchanges. The best position Cannonier was able to get was a clinch, although he didn’t do much after entering this position.
Cannonier was never visibly hurt by strikes from Adesanya throughout the five rounds of action, although it was clear by the end of the fight who was ahead on scorecards due to the connected strikes adding up.
Cannonier was making his first title fight appearance. He has fought at the top of the middleweight division in recent years, earning wins over names like Kelvin Gastelum, Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson.
Adesanya has now defended his middleweight belt five times since first earning it in 2019. His previous appearance was earlier this year when he beat former titleholder Robert Whittaker in a rematch.
After his win, Adesanya set his sights on rising middleweight Alex Pereira, a name who won earlier in the evening. The two have history, as Pereira notably beat Adesanya under kickboxing rules in the past.
Alexander Volkanovski Shuts Out Max Holloway, Wins Trilogy Fight At Featherweight
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski put an end to his rivalry against Max Holloway on Saturday night, beating him for the third time and sweeping scorecards in a unanimous decision win.
Volkanovski took every round on all three scorecards this weekend, marking the most dominant performance out of his three matchups against Holloway.
A stellar striking performance from Volkanovski earned him the victory. Holloway was the advancing fighter for most of the bout, although Volkanovski was the fighter who connected with an overwhelming amount of the shots that landed in the fight.
Damage accumulated for Holloway throughout the fight. The biggest cut on him was on the left eyebrow, which opened in the second round. On the other hand, Volkanovski didn’t show much damage after 25 minutes of action.
The two previous fights between Volkanovski and Holloway were significantly closer than the outcome this weekend.
Holloway was given the trilogy fight against Volkanovski after a strong 2021. He had a pair of stellar main event wins last year, defeating Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez in five-round unanimous decision outcomes.
Volkanovski has now defended his belt four times in total. He first earned the championship in 2019, dethroning Holloway with a decision win. He has since gone the distance in three of his four title defenses, prevailing in all of the fights.
Following his win, Volkanovski set his sights on moving up to lightweight to claim a second championship.
“I don’t think this division itself can keep me busy,” said Volkanovski in his post-fight interview. “I want to move up, go for double champ [status], and I’ll keep two divisions busy.”
Bryan Barberena vs. Robbie Lawler Given ‘Fight of the Night’ Award, Three ‘Performance of the Night’ Awards Given Out
UFC handed out a total of five bonus paychecks on Saturday night. Along with three “Performance of the Night” bonuses, a “Fight of the Night” bonus was awarded as well. All awards were worth $50,000 for the fighters that they pertained to.
Bryan Barberena’s second-round finish over veteran Robbie Lawler was given the “Fight of the Night” award. Barberena closed out a back-and-forth brawl with a series of hooks that made the referee step in and end the fight.
Alex Pereira’s first-round finish win against Sean Strickland — which possibly set him up for a title fight at middleweight — was given “Performance of the Night.”
The bonus also went to headlining prelim fighter Jalin Turner, who submitted Brad Riddell in just 45 seconds with a guillotine choke.
The third “Performance of the Night” award winner was Julija Stoliarenko. The former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion snapped a losing streak and earned her first UFC win in the opening bout of the night, submitting Jessica-Rose Clark early with an armbar.
A full report on UFC 276 can be read here.
Quick Results:
Early Prelims (6:00PM EDT / 3:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Julija Stoliarenko def. Jessica-Rose Clark via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 0:42)
Bout 2: Maycee Barber def. Jessica Eye via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Andre Muniz def. Uriah Hall via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 5:00PM PDT) (ABC / TSN 5)
Bout 4: Dricus Du Plessis def. Brad Tavares via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Ian Machado Garry def. Gabe Green via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Jim Miller def. Donald Cerrone via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 1:32)
Bout 7: Jalin Turner def. Brad Riddell via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 0:45)
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (PPV)
Bout 8: Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley via No Contest, Eye Poke (RD 2, 3:09)
Bout 9: Bryan Barberena def. Robbie Lawler via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:47)
Bout 10: Alex Pereira def. Sean Strickland via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:36)
Bout 11: Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 12: Israel Adesanya def. Jared Cannonier via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Middleweight Championship)
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