After defeating Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision, Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier is back on winning ways since making his return from an arm injury which was sustained in his bout with Robert Whittaker back in October 2020.
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UFC on ESPN 29’s main event featured a middleweight bout between Jared Cannonier (14-5-0) and Kelvin Gastelum (17-8-0) which the Killa Gorilla won via unanimous decision after the judges scored 48-47 on all three cards.
The fight was a fiery one as both the fighters battled non-stop for five rounds. In the initial rounds, Gastelum, compared to Cannonier, landed more effective shots but the stats clearly said that Cannonier was outnumbering the American martial artist with his attack. In the third round, Cannonier landed a hook which was the first significant shot of the fight and that punch dropped Gastelum on the canvas but he managed to get back on his feet and landed a couple of combos on a charging Cannonier, which kept the crowd going.
Gastelum, who was using a much more methodical way in his striking, got clipped once again by Cannonier but this time with an uppercut. Kelvin proved why he’s one of the toughest fighters in the division as he bounced back up once again seemingly unfazed.
The fight was down to the final round where both fighters were looking to bag points and win via decision. With that in mind, Gastelum went for a takedown which scooped Cannonier for a while but he was soon back on his feet. For the next few minutes of the round, Gastelum kept attempting takedowns but Cannonier showed no room for error as he defended these takedowns beautifully until the end of the fight.
What’s next for Jared Cannonier?
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Cannonier is proving to be one of the best fighters the middleweight division has seen and will most likely fight in a title eliminator in his next fight. The one that makes the most sense would be fighting the winner of Darren Till and Derek Brunson in the UFC fight Night main-event. The winner of the fight will most likely earn a title shot.
[Image Credit: El Club de la Pelea]
Shashank Iyer