Going into Saturday evening’s UFC Vegas 102 fundamental occasion of the night, No. 7 contender Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) was below some warmth. The one nicknamed “The Killa Gorilla” got here into the weekend on a two-fight dropping streak with a 2-3 report in his final 5 fights.
Jared Cannonier’s project over the President’s Day vacation weekend on the UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV: Gregory Rodrigues (16-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC.) A loss on Saturday evening might have despatched Cannonier out of the top-10 at middleweight.
Nonetheless, as MMA followers have seen numerous instances all through the years within the sport, together with earlier on throughout the primary card of Saturday’s occasion with the light-weight battle between Nazim Sadykhov (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) and Ismael Bonfim (20-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC), a contest that was waved off within the timeout between rounds one and two due to a health care provider’s stoppage, one-way visitors took over.
Jared Cannonier Cranks Up the Quantity Down the Stretch in UFC Vegas 102 Predominant Occasion
Should you’ve but to see the primary occasion of Saturday evening’s card on ESPN+, do your self a favor: Get out that popcorn and click on the play button. This was an excellent efficiency on the a part of Jared Cannonier, who overcame an early surge from Gregory Rodrigues.
Through the third spherical of an marketed 5, Jared Cannonier started throwing jabs at Gregory Rodrigues, with the latter backing the previous up with a one-two mixture. Whereas Rodrigues tried to counterpunch, Cannonier determined to execute a stage change to maintain his opponent sincere.
Late in spherical three, Jared Cannonier fought off an tried single-leg takedown from Gregory Rodrigues earlier than touchdown an elbow to drop him. A flurry of floor and pound photographs was solely interrupted by the horn to finish spherical three.
Jared Cannonier Retains Foot on Gasoline Pedal in Spherical 4
Whereas the break between the third and fourth durations gave Gregory Rodrigues an opportunity to catch his breath, it was solely a momentary reprieve for the latter’s camp. Proper from the command to battle in spherical 4, Cannonier’s goal was succinct:
Search and destroy. He attacked with a barrage of standing strikes, together with a punch to the physique to solely additional wobble Rodrigues. Herb Dean, overseeing the battle, stepped in and known as an finish to the night’s proceedings, giving Jared Cannonier a fourth-round TKO in simply 21 seconds’ time.
“Huge photographs right here from ‘The Killa Gorilla!’”, exclaimed John Gooden, who was working the telecast on Saturday night. “He’s unshakable from the top-7. It’s a large win for the 40-year-old! Don’t rely him out but!” In so doing, Cannonier picked up the Battle of the Evening Award and an advance in pay to the tune of $50,000 (USD) this previous weekend.
BACK AND FORTH FIGHTS GET 50K 💰
Jared Cannonier & @Gregory_MMA achieved the #UFCVegas102 FOTN!
[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/wgsZxt2jqP
— UFC (@ufc) February 16, 2025
Cannonier Provides Rodrigues His Plaudit in Put up-Battle Interview With Cormier
After the battle, the victorious Cannonier was interviewed by UFC Corridor of Fame inductee Daniel Cormier. In it, he talked about how he needed to battle again in the course of the early going of the battle.
“I assume I used to be harm sufficient to get dropped on my ass a pair [of] instances in that battle,” Cannonier started. “However, naturally so, Gregory hits arduous as hell, and he was slinging big-ass photographs. I used to be in a position to climate the storm and preserve my composure in these actually robust spots. I’d reasonably die on my ft than die on my again.”
Cannonier Thought He Had Rodrigues Stopped in Spherical Three
In a while within the interview with Daniel Cormier, “The Killa Gorilla” admitted that he was of the mindset that he scored a third-round knockout of Gregory Rodrigues.
“I didn’t hear the bell ring on the finish of that [third] spherical,” he recalled. “So, I assumed I completed the battle. I acquired up and I used to be wanting round like ‘How come no person’s excited as I’m?’ They reaffirmed that it was the tip of the spherical, and I used to be like ‘Oh, okay.’”
The truth that Cannonier believed he had the battle received contained in the third spherical by knockout is immaterial within the grand scheme of issues. At evening’s finish, he acquired his hand raised, and Jared Cannonier proved that, regardless of being 40 years of age, it’s solely a quantity.
Closing Ideas: The Sky Is the Restrict for Cannonier After KO Win
Jared Cannonier’s inventory is definitely on the rise popping out of this previous weekend’s motion contained in the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise. He’s in a a lot better place than he would have been forward of the brand new rankings at middleweight on Monday morning had he misplaced on Saturday.
On the very least, he’s acquired one other fundamental occasion coming his approach sooner or later on account of his victory. Ought to he win subsequent trip, every time it occurs to be, Jared Cannonier might out of the blue discover himself firmly within the middleweight championship image.
It’s all as much as Cannonier, nonetheless. From hereon in, he’s acquired to take it one battle at a time, one spherical at a time. He can’t afford to assume too far forward at this level.
