UFC 276: "Adesanya vs Cannonier" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 276: “Adesanya vs Cannonier.” The card featured a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between champion Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and challenger Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier.

In the co-main event, UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski defended his title against ex-champ Max “Blessed” Holloway in a trilogy fight. Sean “Tarzan” Strickland met Alex “Poatan” Pereira in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 276.

 

UFC Middleweight Championship

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya vs Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier

Round 1:
Adesanya opened the fight with kicks to the inside and outside of Cannonier’s left leg. Cannonier began to land leg kicks of his own and Adesanya threw one to the body. He jabbed and attempted a head kick that was blocked. Cannonier landed more leg kicks and he ducked under a head kick from Adesanya late in the round. 10-9 Adesanya.

Round 2:
In the second round, Adesanya was the aggressor early on and he partially landed with a head kick, followed by one to Cannonier’s body. Cannonier landed a body kick of his own and the fighters exchanged calf kicks. Adesanya landed a lead right hook to the body and he ducked under a counter right from Cannonier. With just over one minute to go, Adesanya backed Cannonier up with a right-left combo. Time was called seconds later when Cannonier was poked in the eye. The fight continued after a short break and Adesanya landed a long jab and a leg kick. Cannonier blocked a head kick late in the round. 10-9 Adesanya.

Round 3:
Adesanya landed two leg kicks early in round three, but Cannonier countered the second one with a right-left combo. He clinched and Adesanya quickly shrugged him off. Cannonier punched his way into another clinch and he backed Adesanya up against the cage. Cannonier was unable to get Adesanya down and Adesanya circled away to his right. Cannonier lunged forward with a right-left combination and he clinched after landing another right hand. He kneed Adesanya’s thigh as the crowd began to boo the lack of action. 10-9 Cannonier.

Round 4:
Cannonier was forced to backpedal after eating a stiff jab to his right eye in the fourth round, but he resumed moving forward and landed a right hand to the body. Adesanya backed him up again with three jabs and the fighters exchanged left hooks. Cannonier missed with a right hand and careened into the cage. He secured a body lock and Adesanya quickly broke free. Cannonier landed a nice right cross and he initiated a clinch. Cannonier threw a slashing elbow and he landed another one on the break. Close round. 10-9 Adesanya due to the early damage.

Round 5:
Cannonier blocked a head kick in the opening minute of round five, but Adesanya chopped away at his left leg with more kicks as he circled from side to side. Adesanya landed another leg kick and Cannonier struggled to mount any ofence. He eventually tied Adesanya up in a clinch, but very little happened and Cannonier could not take Adesanya down. After breaking free, Adesanya landed a hard jab, but Cannonier scored with a looping left-right combo that was arguably his best of the fight. Adesanya landed a leg kick and a right hand before the final bell. Another close round. 10-9 Adesanya.

Winner: Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 23-1-0 and remains the UFC Middleweight Champion.

 

UFC Featherweight Championship

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski vs Max “Blessed” Holloway

Round 1:
Volkanovski circled and Holloway tried to close the distance with jabs during an uneventful opening minute. The pace started to pick up and Holloway countered a right hook from Volkanovski with two front kicks to the body. An overhand right scored for Volkanovski and he blocked a head kick. Volkanovski landed another right hand and a stiff jab that snapped Holloway’s head back. Power punches were exchanged and Holloway landed two right hands. Volkanovski replied with a leg kick and Holloway threw a back elbow strike at the bell. 10-9 Volkanovski.

Round 2:
Holloway started round two with a leg kick and Volkanovski continued to have success with overhand rights. Holloway pressed forward with jabs and Volkanovski secured a body lock. He landed a hard elbow on the break and then opened a bad cut above Holloway’s left eye with a right hook. Volkanovski targeted the cut with jabs and Holloway landed a body kick in response. A straight right and a stiff jab landed for Volkanovski as Holloway moved forward. Both men landed jabs and Volkanovski dropped Holloway to a knee with an inside-leg kick. 10-9 Volkanovski.

Round 3:
Volkanovski’s jab continued to give Holloway problems in the third round. Volkanovski landed jab-cross combos and he blocked Holloway’s upper body kicks. Holloway landed a lead left hook, but Volkanovski’s jab caused swelling to form around Holloway’s right eye in addition to the cut that was re-opened above the left. Volkanovski ducked under a right hook from Holloway and landed a counter right to the body. Holloway just missed with a knee and he landed a short right hook. Volkanovski blocked a head kick and Holloway landed a right cross in the dying seconds. 10-9 Volkanovski.

Round 4:
The cut above Holloway’s left eye was re-opened almost immediately in round four. He did land a nice right hand and a body kick, however, and then a spinning back kick to the body. After an exchange of front kicks, Holloway took Volkanovski’s back in a standing clinch. Volkanovski turned into the clinch and pushed Holloway away. Holloway landed a combination, but he ate a left-right combo in return. Volkanovski bloodied Holloway’s face even worse with a right hook and an uppercut. With 30 seconds to go, Holloway landed a spinning back kick to the body. He threw two more before the bell. Much closer round. Still 10-9 Volkanovski.

Round 5:
Holloway fought through jabs from Volknaovski and shot in for an early takedown in the final round. Volkanovski stayed on his feet and he pressed Holloway up against the cage before backing away. Volkanovski went high with a head kick and he popped Holloway in the face with jab after jab. Another clinch followed and Volkanovski held Holloway against the fence. Holloway pushed him away and Volkanovski landed a chopping leg kick. He walked forward with a four-punch combo, but Holloway was able to avoid most of the punches as he circled to his right. Volkanovski landed two jabs and he blocked a head kick. 10-9 Volkanovski.

Winner: Alexander Volkanovski by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) after five rounds. He improves to 25-1-0 and remains the UFC Featherweight Champion.

 

Alex “Poatan” Pereira vs Sean “Tarzan” Strickland

Round 1:
Jabs were exchanged throughout the opening minute and Pereira began to mix in quick but powerful kicks to Strickland’s lead leg. Pereira landed a right cross and both men scored with body kicks. A huge left hook from Pereira dropped Strickland to a knee. As Strickland tried to stand back him, Pereira melted him with a right hand. Strickland crashed to the mat and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Alex Pereira by KO (Punches) at 2:36 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0.

 

Bryan “Bam Bam” Barberena vs “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler

Round 1:
Barberena opened the action with a calf kick and a jab, which Lawler answered with two left hooks after closing the distance. The southpaws traded left hooks and Barberena landed another leg kick. He followed with a huge left hook, but Lawler barely flinched and he landed an overhand left in response. A Lawler uppercut stunned Barberena momentarily, but he recovered right away and flurried to Lawler’s body. Barberena threw non-stop jabs and finished with another left hook to the body. Two back elbow strikes and a dozen more jabs landed for Barberena, but Lawler answered back with a left-right combo and an uppercut. Lawler landed a solid one-two combo late in the round. Difficult round to score. 10-9 Barberena due to volume of strikes.

Round 2:
Lawler backed Barberena up against the cage with an overhand left and three jabs. He knocked Barberena off-balance with another jab and Barberena began to bleed from his nose. Lawler targeted the damaged nose with more jabs and Barberena was forced to back up once more. Hard left hooks were exchanged and Lawler’s punches had more power behind them. Barberena finally wobbled him with an overhand left and he closed in with left and right hooks. Lawler recovered and began firing back punches of his own. Barberena closed in once more and he scored with elbows to both sides of Lawler’s face. Lawler’s right eye swelled up and Barberena froze him in place with a right-left combo. Lawler’s legs gave out on him as he leaned back against the cage and Barberena landed more punches until referee Mark Smith stopped the fight.

Winner: Bryan Barberena by TKO (Punches) at 4:47 of round two. He improves to 18-8-0.

 

Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz vs “Sugar” Sean O’Malley

Round 1:
Both fighters were cautious in the opening minute of the fight until Munhoz began to land leg kicks. O’Malley switched stances and he checked Munhoz’s leg kicks from a southpaw stance. Time was called when Munhoz was kicked in the groin. Action continued after a moment and Munhoz attacked O’Malley’s right leg with more kicks. O’Malley blocked a head kick and he threw two spinning back kicks to the body in the final 45 seconds. Close round due to the lack of sustained action. 10-9 Munhoz.

Round 2:
O’Malley grazed with a spinning wheel kick in the second round. Munhoz threw a leg kick that was answered by an O’Malley right hand. O’Malley landed a body kick and a long jab, but time was called soon after when he poked Munhoz in the right eye. Munhoz was unable to see after a two-minute delay and the fight was waved off.

Result: No Decision (Accidental Eye Poke) at 3:09 of round two. Munhoz moves to 19-7-0, 1 NC, 1 ND, while O’Malley is now 15-1-0, 1 ND.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)