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Tag Archives: middleweight
UFC 276 results, highlights: Israel Adesanya outpoints Jared Cannonier to retain middleweight crown
Ahead of the UFC 276 main event, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya made quite a stir with an entrance inspired by WWE legend The Undertaker. The ensuing performance wasn’t quite as entertaining as Adesanya methodically worked his way to a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier.
Adesanya’s gameplan revolved around working the jab, feinting and landing leg kicks. It wasn’t pretty and left the crowd frustrated but it was effective in taking out a powerhouse striker in Cannonier.
Cannonier attempted to make a mid-fight adjustment to work from the clinch against the cage. Unfortunately for the challenger, when he was able to grab a clinch, he was not often able to do much offensively beyond landing knees to Adesanya’s thighs.
The fight was lacking in big action moments, and instead showcased Adesanya’s technical skills and the ability of those skills to nullify the brute force approach of Cannonier. Often Cannonier was left reaching for counter shots after Adesanya had already landed one or two strikes and moved well out of striking range.
Cannonier also occasionally attempted to score a takedown rather than settle for a clinch against the cage, but Adesanya was able to remain on his feet throughout the contest, continuing to show off an evolution of his wrestling skills, or at least the ability to nullify the wrestling of his opponents. With only working from the clinch providing anything resembling success for Cannonier, it was that well to which he attempted to return frequently.
By the fourth round, the fans began to mildly revolt, booing loudly during Cannonier-initiated clinches or when the two men were standing at striking range without engaging in any fireworks. By the fifth round, many fans had begun filtering out of the arena.
At the conclusion of the five rounds of action, it was clear Adesanya had earned the decision, but the fan goodwill from the walkout was gone as he was loudly booed after the announcement of the 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 scorecards, all in his favor.
After the fight, Adesanya was asked what would be the next step in his career, having already cleared out almost every top contender at 185 pounds.
Adesanya called out Alex Pereira, the man who holds two kickboxing wins over Adesanya, including a brutal knockout victory, and who knocked out Sean Strickland earlier on the main card.
“[Our previous fight] was an error on my part,” Adesanya said, addressing Pereira. “Like I said at the press conference, next time I put you on skates. You’ll be leaving like Elsa in Frozen”
CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 276 below.
UFC 276 card and results
- Israel Adesanya (c) def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
- Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Alex Pereira def. Sean Strickland via first-round TKO (punches)
- Bryan Barberena def. Robbie Lawler via second-round TKO (punches)
- Sean O’Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz ends in no contest due to eye poke
- Jalin Turner def. Brad Riddell via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
- Jim Miller def. Donald Cerrone via second-round submission (guillotine choke)
- Ian Garry def. Gabriel Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Brad Tavares via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Muniz def. Uriah Hall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Maycee Barber def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Julija Stoliarenko def. Jessica Rose-Clark via first-round submission (armbar)
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Paulo Costa reveals he can’t make middleweight for main event against Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41
Paulo Costa won’t be competing at middleweight at UFC Vegas 41.
On Wednesday, the former UFC title challenger revealed that he won’t be able to cut down to the 186-pound limit for his main event fight scheduled against Marvin Vettori.
“My weight right now is 96kilos (211 pounds),” Costa said during the UFC Vegas 41 media day. “What happened yesterday, [my manager] Wallid [Ismail] talked with some people with him, Ali [Abdelaziz], his manager I think, and it’s not on the schedule to make 185 [pounds] anymore. It’s another weight. I’m not exactly [sure] which weight yet.”
Out of action for the past 13 months since losing to reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Costa was making his return against another top ranked fighter in the division with hopes that he could climb right back in to title contention.
Now Costa could be in jeopardy of not competing at all unless a deal can be struck with Vettori and his team in order to book the fight at a catchweight or possibly even as a light heavyweight bout on Saturday.
“I think this fight will happen,” Costa said. “It just will not happen if he don’t want to fight me. Maybe we can do a catchweight 195 [pounds] maybe but I think make this fight [205 pounds] could be more exciting to the fans.
“More explosive fight cause I want to go bring the fight for him. Maybe he wants to bring the fight to me. I think with both guys heavy, this knockout can happen easily.”
Of course, Vettori isn’t the one to blame for the fight happening or not, especially considering both athletes were contracted to compete in the middleweight division.
Costa is just hopeful his team can come to terms with Vettori and the UFC on a new weight for the fight, which is now just three days away.
“Make a little difference for me now, four or five pounds, six pounds. I just don’t care,” Costa said. “I’m more concentrated on my weight than on his weight. I don’t care if he makes 225 pounds or more. We need to find a catchweight to make. I don’t know exactly yet.”
Negotiations to keep the fight on the card are still ongoing but Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail told The MMA Hour that he’s confident they’ll eventually come to terms with Vettori to make the fight happen.
“We’re going to finalize the deal, how it’s going to work, the catchweight, but let me arrive there,” Ismail said on Wednesday. “But the most important now is [Costa] needs to give his best to show the world what he’s about. We cannot talk much, just the time of the fight. It’s going to be a catchweight, this is for sure.”
Costa added that he will explain “after the fight” why he was so far over the middleweight limit at a later date but for now he’s just focused on striking a deal so he can still step in to the octagon on Saturday and do battle with Vettori in the main event.
Jared Cannonier bests Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision in UFC middleweight contender bout
Jared Cannonier has been in the UFC for six years, competing in three weight divisions. He is closer to 40 years old than 30.
Yet on Saturday night, the former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee put forth perhaps his most impressive performance in the Octagon. Cannonier bested Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in a poised showing in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
“It’s always glorious to go five rounds with a guy like Kelvin at that level,” Cannonier said in his postfight interview. “Winning is even more glorious, if you will. I’m happy.”
Cannonier made all the right adjustments after a close early portion of the fight. He dropped Gastelum with a right hook in the third and put a stamp on the outing in the late rounds. It was the first time Cannonier has ever won a five-round decision in his career and only his first winning decision since 2016.
Normally, the explosive Cannonier can end a fight with one punch or kick. But Saturday’s outing showed he (and his coach, John Crouch, of The MMA Lab) could outpoint a wily veteran like Gastelum.
ESPN has Cannonier ranked No. 5 in the world at middleweight. Gastelum, meanwhile, is the man who gave UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya his most difficult test yet at 185 pounds.
Afterward, Cannonier said he would love to get the next shot at Adesanya, but he might have to fight again before a chance at the belt due to a light bank account. Adesanya is very likely to defend next against former champion Robert Whittaker.
“I’m broke, so I need to fight,” Cannonier said. “Hopefully, I get that title shot. But the right name might make me say, ‘Yes.'”
Cannonier came out landing big combinations and calf kicks in a strong first round.
Gastelum rallied in the second round and seemed to take momentum, landing hard one-two combinations out of the southpaw stance, including several with straight left hands that snapped Cannonier’s head back.
The third round was pivotal in the fight. Cannonier switched to southpaw and whipped a right hook that dropped Gastelum in the opening seconds of the round. Cannonier really never gave back control after that, even though Gastelum was able to pop right back up.
Cannonier again landed the harder shots in the fourth round, before Gastelum mounted a brief comeback in the fifth with some solid combinations.
“I’m ambidextrous, so I could go both ways, and I can fight very effectively out of both stances,” Cannonier said. “After I dropped him, I was looking for [the right hook out of southpaw] like crazy, but I couldn’t find it again.”
Cannonier (14-4) would have earned a title shot with a win in his previous bout, but he fell to Whittaker via unanimous decision in October. The Texas native, who fights out of Arizona, was on a three-fight winning streak before that loss.
Cannonier, 37, is one of only two men (Conor McGregor being the other) to win via KO/TKO in three UFC divisions. Cannonier started his UFC run at heavyweight (weighing more than 300 pounds) after leaving a job doing maintenance on traffic control equipment for the FAA. He then moved to light heavyweight, and now he competes at a shredded 185 pounds.
“After a hard-fought win like that, hell yeah I want the title,” Cannonier said on the ESPN+ postfight show. “But it’s not up to me. It’s up to the matchmakers and the UFC brass. I just went out there and did the best I could to send a message.”
Gastelum (16-8, 1 NC) began his UFC career as a welterweight prospect after winning The Ultimate Fighter middleweight crown in 2013. The California native, who trained out of Arizona this camp with former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo, moved to middleweight after struggles on the scale in 2016 and emerged as a contender, facing Adesanya for the interim title in 2019.
It was a losing effort, but it was an all-action bout that was perhaps the best of that year. Gastelum, 29, has lost five of his past six fights, including that barnburner against Adesanya. Gastelum’s strength of schedule has been some of the best in any division.
“I’m gonna keep whooping people’s butts,” Cannonier said, “and keep collecting those checks.”
Marvin Hagler, middleweight boxing great, dies at 66
Marvin Hagler, the middleweight boxing great whose title reign and career ended with a split-decision loss to “Sugar” Ray Leonard in 1987, died Saturday. He was 66.
Wife Kay G. Hagler confirmed the death on Facebook on the verified Marvelous Marvin Hagler Fan Club page.
“I am sorry to make a very sad announcement,” she wrote. “Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
Hagler was 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts from 1973 to 1987. He was the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to his loss to Leonard at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 6, 1987.
The fierce left-hander had two of his biggest victories at Caesars Palace, unanimously outpointing Roberto Duran in 1983 and knocking out Thomas Hearns in the third round in 1985.
“Marvelous Marvin Hagler was among the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said. “He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparalleled determination. He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly.”
Hagler was born in Newark, New Jersey, and moved with his family to Brockton, Massachusetts, in the late 1960s. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1983.
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