Going into Saturday evening’s UFC Vegas 102 principal occasion of the night, No. 7 contender Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) was underneath some warmth. The one nicknamed “The Killa Gorilla” got here into the weekend on a two-fight shedding streak with a 2-3 file in his final 5 fights.
Jared Cannonier’s task 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 may have despatched Cannonier out of the top-10 at middleweight.
Nonetheless, as MMA followers have seen numerous occasions 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 site visitors took over.
Jared Cannonier Cranks Up the Quantity Down the Stretch in UFC Vegas 102 Fundamental Occasion
In case 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 a superb efficiency on the a part of Jared Cannonier, who overcame an early surge from Gregory Rodrigues.
In the course of 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 Fuel 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 referred to 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 Combat 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 Offers Rodrigues His Plaudit in Publish-Combat 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 damage sufficient to get dropped on my ass a pair [of] occasions in that battle,” Cannonier started. “However, naturally so, Gregory hits laborious as hell, and he was slinging big-ass photographs. I used to be capable of climate the storm and preserve my composure in these actually powerful spots. I’d fairly die on my toes than die on my again.”
Cannonier Thought He Had Rodrigues Stopped in Spherical Three
Afterward 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 believed I completed the battle. I obtained up and I used to be trying 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 gained contained in the third spherical by knockout is immaterial within the grand scheme of issues. At evening’s finish, he obtained his hand raised, and Jared Cannonier proved that, regardless of being 40 years of age, it’s solely a quantity.
Ultimate Ideas: The Sky Is the Restrict for Cannonier After KO Win
Jared Cannonier’s inventory is actually 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 obtained one other principal occasion coming his manner sooner or later because of his victory. Ought to he win subsequent outing, each time it occurs to be, Jared Cannonier may all of a sudden discover himself firmly within the middleweight championship image.
It’s all as much as Cannonier, nevertheless. From hereon in, he’s obtained 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.
