Adesanya’s game plan revolved around jabbing, feinting and leg kicks. It wasn’t pretty and left the crowd disappointed, but it was effective in putting away a striker in Cannonier. Cannonier tried to make a mid-fight adjustment to work off the tightness in the cage. Unfortunately for the challenger, when he was able to clinch, he wasn’t often able to do much offensively beyond landing knees to Adesanya’s thighs. The fight lacked big action moments and instead showcased Adesanya’s technical skills and the ability of those skills to nullify Cannonier’s brute force approach. Often Cannonier was left reaching for counter shots after Adesanya had already had a hit or two and was well out of the strike zone. Cannonier also occasionally tried to land a takedown instead of settling for a clinch against the cage, but Adesanya managed to stay on his feet throughout the fight, continuing to show his evolving wrestling skills, or at least the ability to nullifies the struggle of his opponents. With only working from the clinch providing anything resembling success for Cannonier, it was that well he tried to return to often. By the fourth round, the fans began to riot softly, booing loudly during clinches initiated by the Cannoniers or when the two men stood within striking distance without engaging in fireworks. By the fifth round, many fans had started to leave the arena. At the end of five rounds of action, it was clear that Adesanya had won the decision, but the fans’ goodwill from the walkout evaporated as he was loudly booed after the cards were announced 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. , all in his favor. After the fight, Adesanya was asked what the next step in his career would be, having already cleared almost every top contender at 185 pounds. Adesanya called out Alex Pereira, the man who has two kickboxing wins over Adesanya, including a brutal knockout victory, and who knocked out Sean Strickland earlier in the main card. “[Our previous fight] it was a mistake on my part,” Adesanya said, addressing Pereira. “Like I said at the press conference, next time I’ll put you on skates. You’ll leave like Elsa in Frozen.” Elsewhere on the card, title holder Alexander Volkanovski completed his trilogy with Max Holloway with his best performance to date. Volkanovski swept the judges’ scorecards after punching his opponent and opening a nasty gash over his left eye. Volkanovski, now on a 22-fight winning streak, appears to have his sights set on a potential lightweight title shot next. CBS Sports was with you all the way Saturday, bringing you all the results and highlights from UFC 276 below.
UFC 276 card and results
Israel Adesanya (c) def. Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Max Holloway by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) Def. Alex Pereira. 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 a no contest due to eyes Jalin Turner def. Brad Riddell via first round submission (guillotine choke) Jim Miller op. Donald Cerrone via second round submission (guillotine choke) Ian Gary op. Gabriel Green by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Dricus Du Plessis def. Brad Tavares by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Andre Muniz or. Uriah Hall by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Maycee Barber def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Julija Stoliarenko def. Jessica Rose-Clark via first round submission (armbar)
