UFC 276 “Adesanya Vs Cannonier” + “Volkanovski Vs Holloway 3” + Weekly MMA Report
UFC Austin two weekends ago was one of the best cards in the history of the promotion. Last weekend, UFC on ESPN 38 had a lot of decision fights, but real fans of the greatest sport in the world enjoyed it for sure. Comparing these two cards would be mixing apples and oranges. Yet, we’ve seen some high-level bouts in the “Sin City”, and it’s time to make a recap.
The Fight of the Night bonus was given to Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot, who took part in a high-intense main event back-and-forth five-round war, where the Pole outlasted Armenian for a close unanimous decision win.
Shavkat Rakhmonov guillotine choked Neil Magny. Josh Parisian TKO’d Alan Baudot, while Thiago Moises taught Christos Giagos a lesson via a rare one-arm body triangle standing rear-naked choke. Dana White awarded these three fighters with an extra 50k.
16 wins, 16 finishes for Rakhmonov 😳 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/8lS8ZgY0iQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022
A huge comeback win for @JoshParisian 😤 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/uGszTU2trb
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022
Short night at the office for Moises 💼 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/2WJkLax7bi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022
The Bellator main event will be known for the wrestling domination of Johnny Eblen over Gegard Mousasi and his 50-45 win. The promotion officially has a new 185-pound champ.
Also, Cage Warriors’ main event deserves a spot here. The former UFC fighter Rhys McKee slumped Justin Burlinson to earn the vacant 170-pound strap. Check out what happened below.
What just happened!?!? Chaos in Belfast!
Rhys McKee is the new champ!!! #CW140 pic.twitter.com/nseTICSd9w
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 25, 2022
This weekend gonna be outstanding, as the promotion has another PPV event in its sights. The UFC 276 takes place on Saturday, July 2nd, 2022, in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. You can watch prelims at ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ or UFC on Fight Pass, while you’ll need to pay ESPN+ PPV for the main card of the event.
Image source: Official UFC Europe Twitter
It is headlined by an outstandingly promising 185-pound belt bout between the reigning defending champ Israel Adesanya and wrestling/cage control expert with powerful kicks and crisp punches Jared Cannonier.
Adesanya is a striking specialist and a former Glory kickboxing champion, while Jared Cannonier looks like a well-rounded fighter. Someone’s gonna get knocked out here.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (-110), or Cannonier to win (+300)
The co-main event brings the third bout between the Australian all-around fighter Alexander Volkanovski and Hawaiian punching machine Max Holloway. The two already fought twice, where Volkanovski won via razor-close decisions in five-round wars. These fights gonna be very tense and hard for scoring. Alex is stronger thanks to his barbell/dumbbell workout addiction, but Holloway’s cardio is out of this world, the guy never slows down.
Prediction: the fight goes the distance (-200), or Holloway to win (+160)
Take a look at the rest of the card, but last-minute changes could happen, so please check this link too. https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/87604-ufc-276
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 PM ET, 3 AM UK time)
UFC Middleweight Championship: Israel Adesanya (22-1-0) vs. Jared Cannonier (15-5-0)
UFC Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski (24-1-0) vs. Max Holloway (23-6-0)
Welterweight: Sean Strickland (25-3-0) vs. Alex Pereira (5-1-0)
Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz (19-7-0) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1-0)
Preliminary Card (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 PM ET, 1 AM UK time)
Lightweight: Brad Riddell (10-2-0) vs. Jalin Turner (12-5-0)
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler (29-15-0) vs. Bryan Barberena (17-8-0)
Welterweight: Ian Garry (9-0-0) vs. Gabe Green (11-3-0)
Welterweight: Donald Cerrone (36-16-0) vs. Jim Miller (34-16-0)
Early Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 6 PM ET, 11 PM UK time)
Middleweight: Uriah Hall (17-10-0) vs. André Muniz (22-4-0)
Flyweight: Jessica Eye (15-10-0) vs. Maycee Barber (10-2-0)
Middleweight: Brad Tavares (19-6-0) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (16-2-0)
Bantamweight: Jessica-Rose Clark (11-7-0) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (9-6-1)
Check my predictions for the upcoming UFC 276 card:
This weekend brings high-profile match-ups. Yes, Lauren Murphy vs Miesha Tate is scrapped off the main card, but there are two belt fights, let’s enjoy them on Saturday!
[…] UFC 276 PPV will definitively be remembered for a long time. Despite the tactical victory of Israel Adesanya over Jared Cannonier in a five-round snoozefest, many bouts deserved fans’ attention. […]