Jared
Cannonier’s path to the top of the middleweight division just
got a little more clear.
The MMA Lab product put forth arguably the finest performance of
his career to date, as he battered Marvin
Vettori for the better part of five rounds to win a unanimous
decision in the
UFC on ESPN 47 main event on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. All three judges scored the fight for Cannonier: 49-45,
49-45, 48-46. “The Killa Gorilla” has been victorious in four of
his last five promotional appearances.
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Initially it appeared as though Vettori (19-7-1, 9-5-1 UFC) would
make it a short night at the office when he hurt Cannonier (17-6,
10-6 UFC) with a left hand early in the opening round. While
Cannonier recovered from being rocked, Vettori still controlled the
stanza behind his boxing.
It was all Cannonier from there, however. He took control in Round
2, as he walked “The Italian Dream” down and teed off with numerous
powerful right hands. The lopsided frame continued when Cannonier
kicked Vettori’s legs out and unloaded with ground-and-pound in
pursuit of a finish. While the round was a clear 10-8, Vettori
managed to survive, and his granite chin and unyielding resolve
would ultimately carry him to the final horn. Cannonier continued
to target Vettori’s head with jabs and right hands, all while
mixing in timely takedowns, leg kicks and knees for the rest of the
contest. Vettori did well to fire back with combinations and kicks
to the body, but his offense lacked the impact of his
opponent’s. When all was said and done, the 39-year-old former heavyweight set
a UFC middleweight record for significant strikes landed with 241 ,
according to UFCStats.com. Vettori, who has lost two of his last
three outings, has yet to be finished in 27 professional
fights.
Tsarukyan Pounds Out Silva
Arman
Tsarukyan survived a scare before authoring an impressive
finish of underdog Joaquim
Silva in the lightweight co-main event. The 26-year-old
American Top Team representative used a furious salvo of punches,
elbows and hammerfists to put his opponent away at the 3:25 mark of
Round 3. Tsarukyan (20-3, 7-3 UFC) has won seven of his last eight
Octagon appearances.
Tsarukyan didn’t emerge unscathed from his encounter with Silva.
After controlling the opening stanza with wrestling and smothering
pressure, the Russian elected to stand and trade with “Netto BJJ”
in Round 2. While he landed his fair share of offense, Silva had
the round’s most memorable moment when he put his foe on wobbly
legs with a counter left hook. Tsarukyan was able to avoid further
peril by taking Silva down shortly thereafter.
The final stanza was all Tsarukyan, as he returned to a
grappling-first approach. He set the stage for the stoppage by
slamming the Brazilian to the mat, unloading with ground-and-pound
almost as soon as the combatants landed on the canvas. Silva did
his best to keep moving during the barrage, but Tsarukyan wouldn’t
be denied.
Petrosyan Outpoints Duncan
Armen
Petrosyan outdueled former Cage Warriors champion Christian
Leroy Duncan, winning a unanimous decision in a middleweight
affair. The Armenian received tallies of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28
from the cageside judges to earn his second consecutive triumph in
UFC competition.
Petrosyan (9-2, 3-1 UFC) did a solid job navigating the constant
stance switches, unorthodox movement and flashy striking of Duncan
(8-1, 1-1 UFC). “Superman” landed the heavier shots, notably
focusing on the body and leg of Duncan with a variety of kicks.
When the action on the feet wasn’t to his liking, Petrosyan was
able to neutralize his foe with periodic clinch work and takedowns.
Duncan was competitive throughout, notably splitting Petrosyan open
with a spinning backfist late in Round 3. That wouldn’t be enough
to get the nod on the scorecards, as Petrosyan quickly shifted
gears and sealed his triumph with a takedown.
Sabatini Drowns Almeida
Pat
Sabatini completely overwhelmed former Jungle Fight king
Lucas
Almeida en route to a submission victory in a featherweight
pairing. The Renzo Gracie
Philly product
forced a tapout from his opponent with an arm-triangle choke 1:48
into the second period.
Sabatini (18-4, 5-1 UFC) never let Almeida, who had finished all 14
of his professional triumphs, have room to operate. He grounded his
Brazilian adversary in Round 1, advanced to a dominant position and
nearly finished the fight with punches and elbows from above. That
trend continued into the second stanza, as Sabatani landed another
takedown, bloodied Almeida (14-2, 1-1 UFC) with an elbow and then
locked in the fight-ending choke. Almeida had no choice but to ask
out of the fight in a matter of seconds.
Torres Elbow Sleeps Motta
Entram Gym representative Manuel
Torres secured his second quick finish in as many promotional
appearances, as he stopped Brazil’s Nikolas
Motta with a wicked elbow in the opening round of their
lightweight clash. “El Loco” brought an emphatic end to the bout at
the 1:59 mark of Round 1. It was the 13th first-round stoppage of
Torres’ professional career.
Motta (13-5, 1-2 UFC) put Torres (14-2, 2-0 UFC) on alert during an
initial exchange, when he stung the Mexico native with a left hand
at the end of a three-piece combination. With that out of the way,
Torres went to work,
stepping in with a clean left elbow to the face of his
adversary. Motta was out when he hit the canvas, but
Torres landed a couple follow-up hammerfists for good measure
before referee Herb Dean
pulled him out of the fray. Torres debuted in the Octagon with a
first-round TKO of Frank
Camacho at UFC on ESPN 36 in May 2022.
Physical Dalby Wears Down Salikhov
Ex-Cage Warriors title holder Nicolas
Dalby outworked Fighting Eagle export Muslim
Salikhov en route to a unanimous decision triumph in a
welterweight affair. The Dane received scorecards of 30-27, 30-27
and 29-28 for his fourth victory in his last five outings. Salikhov
(19-4, 6-3) lost on the scorecards for the first time in his
professional tenure.
Salikhov controlled the majority of the opening round with his
varied striking, but the tone of the bout changed for good when
Dalby connected with a clean head kick late in the period. Though
Salikhov made it to the horn, he wasn’t the same the rest of the
way. Over the final 10 minutes, Dalby imposed his will through
forward pressure, grueling clinch work and close quarters elbows
and knees. “Danish Dynamite” also threatened with a twister in
Round 2 and closed the show in full mount to punctuate an
impressive comeback victory.
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