Israel Adesanya retained the UFC Middlewieght Championship with a fifth consecutive title defence, winning via unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on Saturday.
In an ultimately tentative fight, the judges awarded the Stylebender the win in a 49-46 49-46 50-45 contest, making it four out of his last five title defences to come via decision.
Largely in control since coming back to fight at middleweight, the 32-year-old immediately called out Alex Pereira, who Sean Strickland via knockout earlier in the night.
Pereira also knocked out Adesanya at GOH 7 in 2017, before the latter joined the UFC the next year, with Saturday's bouts setting up an enticing rematch.
"One thing I was looking forward to was facing Jared as an opponent, but the second thing I was looking forward to was John Crouch versus Eugene Bareman," he said post-fight.
"Two great coaches, two great teams, and I'll tell you one thing, they had an excellent game plan. It was really hard to get my follow-ups going because they had a good game plan.
"We know who's next, that Poatan [Pereira]. Trust me. The first time, I told you, it was an error on my part spamming right hands and that was in kickboxing. Like I said at the press conference, next time I put you on skates."
Cannonier was initially content to stand up with Adesanya, only making sporadic take-down attempts and opting instead to chip away with leg-kicks and wait for big strikes.
More than his unique striking, however, the Stylebender was particularly assertive in the opening two rounds, initiating the exchanges as well as changing up stances.
Cannonier taking the third made for tight closing two rounds, but Adesanya ultimately did not take on any significant damage over the fight.
Importantly, whenever Cannonier would look to force the issue, the reigning champion managed to tag the challenger to halt any progress and retain his title.
Volkanovski dominates Holloway for 12th straight UFC win
In the co-main event, Adesanya's team-mate Alexander Volkanovski reaffirmed his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, retaining the Featherweight Championship in a unanimous decision over Max Holloway.
Each of the judges scored the fight 50-45 to Volkanovski but even that belied just how dominant the 33-year-old was over the five rounds, showing extraordinary precision, explosiveness and tactical nous.
While the second fight between the two was closer, Volkanovski neutralised Holloway's reach and height advantage this time, with timing, quickness and power in his striking - cutting Holloway up badly above his left eye in the first round.
Vokanovski lacked the final blow but was in control, claiming a 3-0 record over Holloway on the way to a 12th straight win in the UFC, a fourth title defence and a 25-1 record in professional MMA.
New Champion: Muhammad strikes Welterweight gold after dominant win over Edwards in UFC 304 main event
A new UFC Welterweight champion has been crowned as Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards in a stunning unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 304 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday.
In the highly anticipated rematch, Muhammad, now the first ever Palestinian-American UFC champion, put on a wrestling clinic to neutralize Leon Edwards’ striking and secure a unanimous decision win.
The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46, all in favor of Muhammad.
Muhammad’s game plan was clear from the outset as he repeatedly took Edwards down and controlled him on the ground.
Despite Edwards’ attempts to escape and land strikes from the bottom, Muhammad’s grappling prowess and improved striking kept the champion at bay throughout the 25 minutes.
“It sounds like a lot of the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes right now,” an emotional Muhammad said in his post-fight interview.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this moment, and I’m just getting started,” he added.
Edwards put his lackluster performance down to fatigue in the week leading up to the fight.
“No surprises. My body just felt tired from round one. Congrats to Belal. He got the job done and we’ll get it back again,” Edwards said after the fight.
The Kingston-born southpaw was attempting to successfully defend his title for the third time.
Edwards, Muhammad successfully make weight ahead of UFC Welterweight Championship clash at UFC 304 in Manchester
The UFC 304 main event between Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards and number two ranked Belal Muhammad is now official after both men successfully weighed in at the Welterweight title fight limit of 170 pounds on Friday morning.
Edwards weighed in at 170 pounds while Muhammad came in one pound under at 169 pounds ahead of their rematch at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on Saturday.
Their first fight back in March 2021 ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, leaving him temporarily unable to see clearly.
On Saturday, Edwards will be looking to defend his Welterweight crown for the third time since winning it at UFC 278 in August 2022 while Muhammad will be looking for his sixth win in a row and first hold on a UFC title.
Friday’s weigh-ins went about as well as one can go as no fighter on the main card or prelims missed weight.
The rest of the main card is as follows:
Interim champion Tom Aspinall (251 lbs) vs Curtis Blaydes (256 lbs) for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
King Green (154.5 lbs) vs Paddy Pimblett (156 lbs) at lightweight
Christian Leroy Duncan (185 lbs) vs Gregory Rodrigues (185 lbs) at middleweight
Arnold Allen (145 lbs) vs Giga Chikadze (146 lbs) at featherweight
Edwards predicts knockout win over Muhammad in UFC 304 main event- “He’s another guy that’s in my way”
Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight Champion Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is predicting a knockout victory over opponent, number 2 ranked Belal Muhammad, in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester this Saturday.
Edwards (22-3) enters Saturday’s fight coming off four wins in a row since a no contest against Muhammad in their first fight in March 2021 while Muhammad (23-3) has won five straight since that fight.
The 32-year-old southpaw was asked by MyProtein in a pre-fight interview how he plans to get the victory over Muhammad this weekend.
“Knock him out,” was his simple answer.
“I feel like, for this fight, I want to go out there and get a finish. We’ve fought before. I’ve felt his range and distance. I feel like I’m just the better overall mixed martial artist and I’ll prove that come Saturday night,” Edwards added.
If his prediction of a knockout comes true, it would be the fourth knockout for Edwards in 18 UFC fights.
His last win of that method was his famous head kick knockout win over former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the Welterweight title.
“I’m number one. I’m the best and that’s all it is. He’s another guy that’s in my way for me to get to where I want to get to and that’s it,” he said.
As far as his preparation goes, Edwards said a lot of hard work was put in to prepare for this upcoming fight.
“Camp’s been good. A lot of hard work. The team pushed me hard this camp and I’m feeling good for it,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to headlining my second homecoming show back in the UK,” he added.
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