UFC 276: Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier Picks and Predictions
Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier face off on Saturday in a middleweight title bout at UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena at Las Vegas, Nevada. Adesanya is the champion while Cannonier is ranked second.
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya comes into this fight with a 22-1 record overall and he has won two fights in a row. Adesanya’s last fight came against Robert Whittaker in February of 2022 and he was able to win by unanimous decision. He was taken down four times in that fight, but Adesanya still outstruck Whittaker 79-59 and that was enough to secure the victory. Adesanya is averaging 3.84 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.56 significant strikes per minute. Adesanya wants to keep the fight on the feet and is stopping 77 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. Adesanya is good at keeping at a distance and picking his opponent apart that way.
On the other side of this matchup is Jared Cannonier who sits with a 15-5 record overall and he has won two fights in a row. Cannonier’s last fight came against Derek Brunson in February of 2022 and it was late in the second round that he was able to finish the fight by knockout. Cannonier’s last loss came against Robert Whittaker in October of 2020. Cannonier is averaging 3.76 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.29 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 0.23 takedowns every 15 minutes and is successful on 50 percent of his attempts. He also stops 65 percent of his opponent's attempts.
Adesanya isn’t facing his toughest test here going against Cannonier, and he is going to dominate this fight. Cannonier’s only path to real victory here is to finish by knockout, but the way Adesanya controls distance he is going to have very few issues avoiding that. Adesanya is going to do incredible damage here, and Cannonier is going to get worn down. It might take until the 3rd or 4th round, but Adesanya is going to finish the fight. Back Adesanya to win by knockout. I am also throwing a few dollars on Adesanya to win by knockout in the 3rd round.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
