Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for the Las Vegas Sun Mark Raimondi
LAS VEGAS — Israel Adesanya gazed into a proverbial crystal ball Thursday at the UFC 276 press conference. Behind him courtside were Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira, a pair of middleweights on the undercard this weekend. Close ESPN Staff Writer
MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for the Las Vegas Sun
The winner of that fight will likely be next in line for Adesanya’s middleweight title — and “The Last Stylebender” spent more time verbally back-and-forth with Strickland and Pereira than his actual next opponent. Before Adesanya can open the door to his next challenge, he must successfully defend his UFC middleweight title Saturday night against Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 headliner at T-Mobile Arena. And the hard-nosed Cannonier is not one to look past, even if Adesanya is a -490 favorite, per Caesars. Adesanya is one of the best fighters in the world. ESPN ranks him No. 3 in the world on their pound-for-pound list. At middleweight, Adesanya is ranked No. 1 and Cannonier is No. 3. Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight championship against Jared Cannonier and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski takes on Max Holloway in a trilogy fight. Buy UFC 276 on ESPN+ PPV UFC 276: Adesanya vs. CannonierSaturday, July 2, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas• Main card: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV• Preliminaries: 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+• Early Preliminaries: 6 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+ Subscribe to ESPN+ for exclusive live UFC events, weigh-ins and more. Dana White’s Contender Series? and more exclusive MMA content. Adesanya (22-1) is undefeated at 185 pounds, a perfect 11-0 in the UFC at that weight class. The Nigerian-born New Zealand resident is coming off a unanimous decision win over challenger Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in February. Adesanya, 32, has four successful middleweight title defenses since unifying the belt with Whittaker in 2019. His only professional MMA loss was a UFC light heavyweight title fight against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 in March of 2021. Cannonier (15-5) has won two straight and five of his previous six. The Arizona native is coming off a second-round knockout of Derek Brunson at UFC 271. Cannonier, 38, has finished fights in three different weight divisions: heavyweight, lightweight and middleweight. His only loss at middleweight came against Whittaker in 2020. In the co-main event at UFC 276, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against former champion Max Holloway in a trilogy fight. Volkanovski and Holloway are among the best featherweight fighters in UFC history. ESPN has Volkanovski tied for No. 4 in the pound-for-pound world rankings, and Holloway is No. 6 on that list. Volkanovski (24-1) has won 11 UFC fights and 21 streaks overall. The Australian native has three successful title defenses since winning the belt from Holloway in 2019. Volkanovski, 33, has beaten Holloway twice, most recently by close decision at UFC 251 in July 2020. Holloway (23-6) has won two straight after back-to-back losses to Volkanovski. Holloway, 30, held one version of the UFC featherweight title from 2016 to 2018 with three successful title defenses. Also on paper, Strickland and Pereira will meet in a potential middleweight title eliminator. Strickland is one of the most prolific trash talkers in the division, while Pereira is 2-0 against Adesanya in kickboxing, including a knockout victory. Additionally, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler takes on Bryan Barberena, and top heavyweight contender Sean O’Malley takes on veteran Pedro Munhoz in O’Malley’s toughest test to date. Follow along as Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi recap the action in Las Vegas or watch the matches live on ESPN+ PPV.
Current fight: Welterweight: Brad Tavares (19-7, 14-6 UFC, +130) vs. Dricus du Plessis (16-2, 2-0 UFC, -155)
UFC 276 results
Middleweight: Andre Muniz (23-4, 5-0 UFC) def. Uriah Hall (18-11, 10-9 UFC) by unanimous decision
With the win over Hall, Muniz became the 15th fighter in UFC history to win his first 5 middleweight bouts. More to come from Las Vegas shortly.
women’s flyweight: Maycee Barber (11-2, 6-2 UFC) def. Jessica Eye (15-11 1 NC, 5-10 1 NC UFC) by unanimous decision (Watch on ESPN+)
Maycee Barber plans to make a run for the women’s flyweight title after a unanimous decision win over Jessica Eye at UFC 276. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Maycee Barber is once again a factor in the UFC women’s flyweight division. The former top prospect has lost some luster from this blue-chipper label in recent years, but is back on track now after a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) win over the former challenger of the title Eye. Afterward, Barber said this was the final fight of her UFC contract and she looks forward to sitting down with UFC president Dana White and chief business officer Hunter Campbell to discuss a new deal — and a future one. title shot. Eye took off her gloves after the match and announced her retirement in her post-match interview with Joe Rogan. “I think it’s about time,” Eye said. “I’ve been pro since 2009. I’ve done a lot of UFC fights.” Barber managed to keep the aggressive Eye at bay in all three rounds. Eye’s strategy was clear – start a clinch and try to get Barber to the ground. Barber was able to fend her off with elbows and punches in the clinch, as well as knees and high kicks late in the fight. Eye took Barber down in the second round and spent most of that frame in top position, though she didn’t do much damage. Barber landed a big elbow in the first round that caused a large bruise over Eye’s right eye. Barber, 24, has won three straight after a two-game losing streak. The Colorado native seems to have found the right home with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California after bouncing around different camps. Eye, a 35-year-old Ohio native, has lost four in a row and five in a row.
Women’s Bantamweight: Julija Stoliarenko (10-7-2, 1-3 UFC) def. Jessica-Rose Clark (11-8, 4-4 UFC) by submission (Watch on ESPN+)
Julija Stoliarenko’s win over Jessica-Rose Clark was the second fastest in women’s bantamweight history. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Stoliarenko, from Lithuania, picked up her first win in four attempts inside the octagon as she made quick work of Clark via first-round armbar. The finish came just 42 seconds into the match. Stoliarenko is known for a wicked armbar and she wasted no time in finding it against Clark as she took it down immediately. Clark struck quickly, but not quickly enough. The armbar was applied so aggressively that Clarke’s left elbow appeared to be dislocated before referee Chris Togoni could intervene. It’s Stoliarenko’s first win since March 2020. Clark 4-4 overall in the UFC.
Still coming:
Middleweight Championship: Israel Adesanya (c) (22-1, 11-1 UFC, -490) vs. Jared Cannonier (15-5, 8-5 UFC, +370) Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski (c) (24-1, 11-0 UFC, -210) vs. Max Holloway (23-6, 19-6 UFC, +175) Middleweight: Sean Strickland (25-3, 12-3 UFC, -120) vs. Alex Pereira (5-1, 2-0 UFC, +100) Welterweight: Robbie Lawler (29-15, 14-9 UFC, -120) vs. Bryan Barberena (17-8, 8-6 UFC, +100) Men’s Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz (19-7 1 NC, 9-7 1 NC UFC, +250) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1, 7-1 UFC, -310) Lightweight: Brad Riddell (10-2, 4-1 UFC, +125) vs. Jalin Turner (12-5, 5-2 UFC, -150) Welterweight: Jim Miller (34-16, 23-16 UFC, -190) vs. Donald Cerrone (36-16 2 NC, 23-13 1 NC UFC, +160) Welterweight: Ian Garry (9-0, 2-0 UFC, -175) vs. Gabe Green (11-3, 2-1 UFC, +150)
(c) = defending champion
