Israel Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier: The Ultimate Heavyweight Fight

 

In the main event of UFC 276 Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight belt with ease.

Israel Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, winning a dull unanimous decision.

Max Holloway was defeated by Alexander Volkanovski in the co-main event for the third time, and Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight title by unanimous decision.

Although Adesanya (23-1, 15 finishes) was one of the UFC's most entertaining fighters and personalities when he earned his title three years ago, his grandiose ring walk may have been the most exciting aspect of his technical, dry victory over the cautious Cannonier (15-6, 12 finishes).

Adesanya carefully picked at Cannonier with kicks and sporadic punches for five rounds after imitating legendary professional wrestler The Undertaker on a walk that included the wrestler's trademark helmet and a big urn. At 38 years old, Cannonier was receiving his first shot at a UFC title, but he struggled to find a reliable hitting range and didn't demonstrate enough urgency to do so.

Adesanya triumphed with scores of 50-45, 49-46, and 49-46 from the three judges. He has one stoppage victory in his five fights at 185 pounds since 2019, but he has never lost a UFC middleweight contest.

They had a great game plan, so getting going was extremely difficult, according to Adesanya.