Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland are set to combat for relevancy among the many middleweight elite. Cannonier vs. Strickland headlines UFC Combat Evening on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night time.
Cannonier (15-6) was the beneficiary of Israel Adesanya’s dominance over the middleweight division previous new champion Alex Pereira’s takeover. He earned a middleweight title combat towards Adesanya at UFC 276 following wins over Derek Brunson and Kelvin Gastelum, however the “Killa Gorilla” was stifled within the largest combat of his profession. That combat nonetheless stings, however a win over Strickland will do nicely to fix the wound.
“I went again to the locker room and shed a couple of tears, acquired condolences from household and buddies and all that,” Cannonier informed reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “However basically on the way in which residence from the world, I used to be over it. I used to be prepared to maneuver on and get higher, be taught from the expertise. It nonetheless sucked. The sting continues to be there. However I do not deal with the unfavourable. I deal with the constructive.
“I feel he’ll have his fingers a little bit full to be speaking crap. And if he’s speaking crap, good on him.”
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Strickland (25-4) fought Pereira on the primary card of Adesanya vs. Cannonier. In contrast to Cannonier, who went 5 full rounds with the champ, Strickland was knocked out chilly in below three minutes. Strickland’s lackadaisical method value him large — snapping his six-fight successful streak and a shot at middleweight gold — but he initiatives the identical nonchalant angle forward of Saturday’s foremost occasion.
“‘The Killa Gorilla,’ let’s f—-ing go. Feels like a scary motherf—er,” Strickland mentioned on Wednesday. “Feels like I do not need to share a f—ing cell with that man.
“Possibly I am going to take him down. Possibly I am going to kickbox. Possibly I am going to field. I do not even f—ing know these items. You are asking questions I have not even thought of but.”
The remainder of the undercard fills out with some enjoyable fights to shut out the yr. Rising contenders within the light-weight division conflict when Arman Tsarukyan and Damir Ismagulov. Tsarukyan is coming off a loss to Matuez Gamrot, however had ripped off 5 straight wins earlier than that. Ismagulov, in the meantime, has received an astounding 19 straight fights together with his final loss coming again in 2015. He is unbeaten towards UFC competitors with all 5 of these wins coming by choice.
An all-action combat between fellow lightweights Drew Dober and Bobby Inexperienced is a number one candidate for a Combat of the Evening or Efficiency of the Evening bonus. Dober made a push to get the subsequent crack at rising star Paddy Pimblett, however would not consider it is going to occur.
“UFC is not going to let me combat him,” Dober mentioned at media day on Wednesday. “Let’s be sincere. We watched his final combat. We all know what I am able to. That’d be a enjoyable one. I simply need to combat in London at that O2 Area. So if Paddy says sure, I am all for it. However everyone knows. We acquired Dana, UFC and all these — they will not let that occur.”
Beneath is the remainder of the combat card for Saturday night time with the most recent odds from Caesars Sportsbook earlier than we get to a prediction and decide on the primary occasion.
UFC Combat Evening card, odds
| Jared Cannonier -110 | Sean Strickland -110 | Middleweight |
| Arman Tsarukyan -190 | Damir Ismagulov +160 | Light-weight |
| Amir Albazi -450 | Alessandro Costa +350 | Flyweight |
| Julian Erosa -170 | Alex Caceres +145 | Featherweight |
| Drew Dober -155 | Bobby Inexperienced +130 | Light-weight |
| Michael Oleksiejczuk -280 | Cody Brundage +230 | Middleweight |
UFC Combat Evening viewing data
Date: Dec. 17 | Begin time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: UFC Apex — Las Vegas
TV channel: ESPN+
Prediction
Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland: Cannonier and Strickland should make use of methods reverse to what they introduced towards Adesanya and Pereira, respectively. Cannonier fought measured and it value him towards the technically superior Adesanya. Strickland was sloppy and left his chin extensive open for Pereira’s unparalleled energy. I am not satisfied Cannonier can win a technical hanging battle towards Strickland. It’s crucial that Cannonier cuts off exits and takes the combat to his opponent. In contrast, Strickland might want to endure Cannonier’s energy and maintain him at distance. Each fighters have an similar knockout document of 10-2, however Cannonier is a contact extra sturdy and highly effective than Strickland. Cannonier has solely been stopped in larger weight lessons, whereas Strickland’s KO losses had been to absolute thumpers Pereira and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at 185. Cannonier has completed 4 of his final 5 opponents in comparison with simply one among 5 for Strickland. Cannonier should decide to the end and I feel he’ll discover it inside three rounds. Cannonier through KO2
Who wins Cannonier vs. Strickland? And the way precisely does every combat finish? Go to SportsLine now to get detailed picks on each combat at UFC Combat Evening, all from the incomparable professional who’s up greater than $13,000 on MMA prior to now three years, and discover out.
