MMA
UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier sharp in unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum
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There was a moment during the third round when Jared Cannonier faked a jab and wrapped a crushing right hand around the guard to rock Kelvin Gastelum across the jaw and drop him with a thud. A piercing head kick followed.
Although he couldn't finish Gastelum, Cannonier did land the more significant strikes over the five rounds to get the unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night. Judges all scored it 48-47 in his favor at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.
"I'm happy I got to drop him, I'm not too happy I didn't get the finish," Cannonier told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview in the Octagon. "But I think that (third-round punch) helped turn the tide of the fight for me. It gave me a little bit of momentum, and I just kept it going."
That being said, when Cormier asked Cannonier if he'd like to wait to face the winner of an upcoming rematch between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, he didn't pull any punches.
"I'm broke, so I need to fight," Cannonier said bluntly. "Hopefully, I get that title shot, but the right name might make me say yes."
After putting each other on notice of their respective power with clipping shots, while mixing in inside leg kicks during the first round, Cannonier got caught with a few clubbing left hands from Gastelum in the second. However, Cannonier made sure the third round was the turning point of the fight as he put Gastelum on his backside with a big right and greeted him with a head kick as he got back to his feet.
The fourth and fifth rounds had Cannonier, 37, further asserting his six inches of reach advantage as he peppered Gastelum with his long jab to keep the powerful puncher at bay. Cannonier's sizable edge on significant strikes made Gastelum's late takedown futile as the No. 3-ranked middleweight has now won four of his last five fights, bouncing back from a loss to Whittaker in October. Meanwhile, Gastelum has now lost five of his last six fights.
Co-main event: Mark Madsen def. Clay Guida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Madsen stuck a constant jab in front of Guida's face to help get the nod from two of the three judges in a controversial split-decision victory that could have been scored the other way. Nevertheless, Madsen did overcome a lot to get the win, including his wife being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and having suffered a fractured jaw in his last bout.
Prelims highlighted by back-to-back Knockout of the Year candidates
Ignacio Bahamondes saved his best for last by blasting Roosevelt Roberts with a walkoff spinning back kick with five seconds left in the third round for the lightweight's first UFC win.
That was followed by William Knight sleeping Fabio Cherant with a sneaky but pulverizing left hand for the first-round knockout in their light heavyweight tilt.
