Jared Cannonier turned in a historic performance Saturday in Las Vegas.
In the UFC on ESPN 46 main event, Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) led the action against Marvin Vettori, while his striking volume placed his name in the history books. After five rounds, Cannonier earned unanimous scores of 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46 in his favor. The event took place at the UFC Apex, airing live on ESPN and streaming on ESPN+.
Vettori had a big moment in the opening seconds of the fight by landing a hard left hand that wobbled Cannonier. Vettori swarmed, but a moment later, it would be Cannonier who landed a big punch to get Vettori’s attention. The heavy-handed middleweights continued to exchange with both landing damaging strikes.
Cannonier came out on fire in the second round. Big punches from “The Killa Gorilla” found their mark, putting Vettori on his back foot early. A kick took Vettori off his feet, and Cannonier swarmed with heavy punches from the top. Vettori got back to his feet, but Cannonier continued to unload.
Bruised and bloodied, Vettori remained in the fight, but Cannonier just kept marching forward, swinging and landing hooks. With 30 seconds remaining, somehow, Vettori landed a few punches to keep Cannonier honest.
The toughness and speedy recovery of Vettori was on display early in the third, as he came out trading with Cannonier. Despite landing a few clean strikes, Cannonier began to turn things in his favor again, and added a takedown into the mix of strikes. But just when the momentum shifted, Vettori rallied back into the fight.
The back-and-forth exchanges continued early in the fourth round. Both fighters took their turns firing punches and kicks, but Cannonier would switch it up with a clean takedown. Vettori worked his way back up and returned to the center to offer more punches. Then the left jab of Cannonier began to score repeatedly, setting up combinations.
With just five minutes to go, Cannonier continued to land big, popping back the head of Vettori. As if the strikes didn’t register, Vettori kept firing back, likely causing Cannonier to wonder what it would take to end the fight. After more punches, Cannonier brought the fight to the ground with 90 seconds to go. There, he landed heavy ground and pound, but Vettori got back up, and the fight ended in the clinch at the final horn.
ALL TOUGHNESS. ALL HEART.
Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori go the distance in an absolute SLUGFEST. #UFCVegas75 pic.twitter.com/OkuknXSbYw
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2023
Cannonier set the single-fight record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC middleweight bout, landing 241 total according to UFC Stats.
During his post-fight interview, Cannonier told Paul Felder that he wants a title shot or a fight that gets him another shot at the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
What does Jared Cannonier want after tonight's record-setting performance?
The title. By any means necessary, #UFCVegas75 pic.twitter.com/u7PpJIFnDQ
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2023
Full results of UFC on ESPN 46 include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.
