Middleweight Division
Jared Cannonier is plowing through the middleweight division with a serious chip on his shoulder! At 13-4, he hopes to defeat the former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, to put himself first in line for a shot at Israel Adesanya’s Middleweight championship belt.
Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier started his UFC career as a Light Heavyweight contender and quickly realized that weight class wasn’t for him. He went 0-2 in that division and SMARTLY made the decision to move to Middleweight. I say smartly because Cannonier is kicking ass and taking names right now! Cannonier fought three times in a 10 month period, and has gone 3-0, with two vicious ground and pound knockouts, and a TKO victory of Anderson Silva where he just continuously attacked the inside leg and the fight was stopped. Cannonier has made a name for himself quickly in this division, and a win sets him up for a title shot.
Robert Whittaker reigned as the Middleweight division champion for three years, successfully defending it twice against Yoel Romero, and ultimately succumbing to Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya in 2019. Whittaker had been an absolute powerhouse in the division, winning 12 of his 15 UFC fights. Prior to his loss to Adesanya, he was riding a 9 fight win streak. The loss to Adesanya has had Whittaker hungry to regain the belt ever since. His first fight since the TKO loss to Stylebender was 9 months later against the always exciting Darren Till. Whittaker demonstrated power in this fight and was not afraid to let his hands go. The only thing I would say for Whittaker in a fight against Cannonier is, precision beats power. In the Till fight, Whittaker threw a ton of wild punches, a lot of overhand rights that missed and spun him around, a little out of control. Against a power puncher like Cannonier, that could prove detrimental. Whittaker has already proven himself as a high level mixed martial artist who has tasted gold before, but will he inevitably just be another TKO loss on Jared Cannonier’s record?
Hammer: Jared Cannonier
Nail: Robert Whittaker
Prediction: I’m predicting a 3rd round ground and pound stoppage victory for Jared Cannonier.
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