‘Inspiring’ – Fighters react as Jared Cannonier survives two knockdowns to stop ‘Robocop’ at UFC Fight Night 251
UFC stars were full of praise for Jared Cannonier after his gritty performance in the main event of UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday night. The 40-year-old fought back from being dropped twice in the first round to stop Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth. Cannonier was knocked down twice in the first round by ‘Robocop’Rex But fought back with grit and plenty of heart to persevere.Getty Cannonier prevented his third straight UFC defeat with his victory over ‘Robocop’, which led to huge credit from the promotion’s biggest stars. Just 10 seconds into round four, Cannonier had Rodrigues, 32, trapped against the cage. He landed a gorgeous combination, before following up with several right hands that forced the Brazilian down on one knee and referee Herb Dean had no choice but to wave off the fight. “Wow. What a comeback. He still got it,” wrote UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad on X. UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney said: “Jared inspiring dudes. A machine 40 years old truly a gorilla,” Meanwhile MMA pundit Brian Campbell added: “Cannonier is a dawg. Fearless, technical and brutal at UFC Vegas 102.” Following his victory, Cannonier now holds the record for the most knockouts among active UFC middleweights, with five. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ had fought the highest-ranked middleweights heading into his Las Vegas main event. He locked horns with Israel Adesanya for the 185-pound belt in 2022, before taking on Sean Strickland and Martin Vettori, winning both bouts. Cannonier proceeded to lose consecutive fights to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho before his win at UFC Fight Night 251. Cannonier now boasts a professional MMA record of 18-8Getty ‘The Killa Gorilla’ has fought the UFC’s best, including Israel AdesanyaGetty The Texas native spoke to UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier after his fight and revealed how he bounced back to get the victory. “I was hurt enough to get dropped on my a** a couple of times in that fight” he said. “But naturally so. Gregory hits hard as hell and he was swinging big shots. “I was able to weather the storm, keep my composure, even in those really tough spots, and work my way back up to my feet. “I’d rather die on my feet than die on my back.” Cormier praised Cannonier as someone who has been active among the best UFC middleweights for a long time, although the latter didn’t seem to recognise his experience as an advantage on fight night. Cannonier credited his team for being able to weather the storm and winGetty “When you step into the octagon on fight night it’s brand new every time,” he added. “So it’s hard to really lean on that experience, even though this is my seventh main event. “Experience plays a factor, but I want to lean on my team, they helped me out through his whole camp, and my improvements really showed in this fight.” In the co-main event on Saturday night, Youssef Zalas was awarded a unanimous decision victory over Calvin Kattar. Meanwhile, Edmen Shahbazyan secured a Performance of the Night bonus with his brutal first-round knockout over Dylan Budka.
UFC stars were full of praise for Jared Cannonier after his gritty performance in the main event of UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday night.
The 40-year-old fought back from being dropped twice in the first round to stop Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth.
Cannonier prevented his third straight UFC defeat with his victory over ‘Robocop’, which led to huge credit from the promotion’s biggest stars.
Just 10 seconds into round four, Cannonier had Rodrigues, 32, trapped against the cage.
He landed a gorgeous combination, before following up with several right hands that forced the Brazilian down on one knee and referee Herb Dean had no choice but to wave off the fight.
“Wow. What a comeback. He still got it,” wrote UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad on X.
UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney said: “Jared inspiring dudes. A machine 40 years old truly a gorilla,”
Meanwhile MMA pundit Brian Campbell added: “Cannonier is a dawg. Fearless, technical and brutal at UFC Vegas 102.”
Following his victory, Cannonier now holds the record for the most knockouts among active UFC middleweights, with five.
‘The Killa Gorilla’ had fought the highest-ranked middleweights heading into his Las Vegas main event.
He locked horns with Israel Adesanya for the 185-pound belt in 2022, before taking on Sean Strickland and Martin Vettori, winning both bouts.
Cannonier proceeded to lose consecutive fights to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho before his win at UFC Fight Night 251.
The Texas native spoke to UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier after his fight and revealed how he bounced back to get the victory.
“I was hurt enough to get dropped on my a** a couple of times in that fight” he said.
“But naturally so. Gregory hits hard as hell and he was swinging big shots.
“I was able to weather the storm, keep my composure, even in those really tough spots, and work my way back up to my feet.
“I’d rather die on my feet than die on my back.”
Cormier praised Cannonier as someone who has been active among the best UFC middleweights for a long time, although the latter didn’t seem to recognise his experience as an advantage on fight night.
“When you step into the octagon on fight night it’s brand new every time,” he added.
“So it’s hard to really lean on that experience, even though this is my seventh main event.
“Experience plays a factor, but I want to lean on my team, they helped me out through his whole camp, and my improvements really showed in this fight.”
In the co-main event on Saturday night, Youssef Zalas was awarded a unanimous decision victory over Calvin Kattar.
Meanwhile, Edmen Shahbazyan secured a Performance of the Night bonus with his brutal first-round knockout over Dylan Budka.
