Cannonier vs Strickland poster
Ahead of UFC Vegas 66: Cannonier vs Strickland, we take a look at the odds, and predictions for the main card
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return to the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada for its next fight card, which will be titled UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland (also known as UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74, and UFC Vegas 66). This move comes after the UFC hosted a successful pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena.
The event is scheduled to take place on the 17th of December, and there will be a number of fascinating matchups to look forward to. The main event of UFC Fight Night will be a middleweight bout between No. 3-ranked Jared Cannonier and No. 7 Sean Strickland. This fight will serve as the main attraction.
One half of the main event, Jared Cannonier began his MMA career in early 2011 as an amateur and promptly won his first two fights via knockout. He debuted in the MMA in June of 2011 in Alaska. Over the next five years, he only fought occasionally, but still managed to go 7-0 in the ring.
It was revealed in October 2014 that Cannonier has inked a contract to compete for the UFC. On January 3, 2015, he made his MMA debut at UFC 182 and competed against Shawn Jordan in a heavyweight bout. He was knocked out in the first round of the fight.
Cannonier was supposed to fight Jonathan Wilson at UFC Fight Night 73 on August 8, 2015; however, Matt Van Buren suffered an injury and had to be replaced. Chris Dempsey stepped in for Cannonier when the latter was forced to withdraw from the competition owing to an injury.
Cannonier made his comeback on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos, where he was scheduled to meet Cyril Asker after an absence of eighteen months. He knocked out Asker with a combination of elbow strikes and punches, which led to his victory. Cannonier also received his first bonus award for Performance of the Night as a result of the triumph. [
Cannonier competed in the light heavyweight division in his third bout for the company, which required him to move down a weight class. On December 3, 2016, he competed against Ion Cuțelaba in the final round of The Ultimate Fighter 24. The judges all gave Cannonier the victory by unanimous judgement. As a result of the fight, Cannonier and Cuţelaba were crowned the winners of Fight of the Night. This was Cannonier’s second bonus award in a row.
Skipping ahead to 2022, on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270, Cannonier was supposed to compete against Derek Brunson. This was supposed to be the first fight of his new six-fight contract. However, due to reasons that have not been made public, the fight will now take place at UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. In the second round, he knocked out his opponent and won the fight. Because of the victory, he was given the bonus for Performance of the Night.
At UFC 276, which took place on July 2, 2022, Cannonier competed against Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship. He was defeated by a decision that was reached by all of the judges.
At UFC Fight Night 212, which was going to take place on October 15, 2022, Cannonier was supposed to fight Sean Strickland. However, because Strickland was suffering from an infection in his finger, the fight had to be cancelled. The fight between these two fighters has been moved to UFC Fight Night 216, which will take place on December 17, 2022.
His opponent, Sean Strickland spent his childhood in a home in Corona, California, where his father was both physically and verbally abusive to him. Strickland, who was driven to rage by his family’s predicament, was expelled from each and every school he ever attended. Strickland started his training in mixed martial arts when he was only 14 years old and turned professional when he was 16 years old.
Strickland made his professional debut in 2008 for the King of the Cage promotion and compiled an undefeated record of 9–0 before facing Josh Bryant in a fight for the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship at KOTC: Unification on December 9, 2012. Strickland won via split decision, and then successfully defended his title three times before being signed by the UFC.
At UFC Fight Night 200, which took place on February 5, 2022, Strickland competed against Jack Hermansson. He prevailed in the bout by way of a split decision. The fight between Strickland and Alex Pereira was scheduled to take place at UFC 277 on July 30, 2022.
Despite this, the promotion has decided to reschedule the fight for UFC 276, which will take place on July 2, 2022. The fight ended in the first round with Strickland being knocked out by his opponent.
Odds: Jared Cannonier +105 vs. Sean Strickland -125 [favorite]
Our Prediction: Jared Cannonier did not take significant damage in his last fight against Adesanya. Strickland, on the other hand, succumbed to a devastating KO loss at the hands of Alex Pereria. If history and MMA experts are to be believed, fighters are advised to take some time off before they return back in action.
However, Strickland has chosen to make a quick turnaround, something which we believe will factor in the upcoming fight. ‘Tarzan’s violent sparring sessions should be accounted while predicting the fight. With all that in mind, expect Jared Cannonier to pull off a highlight reel KO in the upcoming fight.
Arman Tsarukyan -170 [favorite] vs. Damir Ismagulov +145
Amir Albazi -400 [favorite] vs. Alessandro Costa +325
Alex Caceres +160 vs. Julian Erosa -190 [favorite]
Drew Dober -155 [favorite] vs. Bobby Green +135
Michał Oleksiejczuk -265 [favorite] vs. Cody Brundage +225
Cheyanne Vlismas-190 [favorite] vs. Cory McKenna +160
Jake Matthews -240 [favorite] vs. Matthew Semelsberger +200
Julian Marquez -165 [favorite] vs. Deron Winn +140
Said Nurmagomedov -120 [favorite] vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov +100
Rafa García -120 [favorite] vs. Hayisaer +100
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Bryan Battle Maheshate
Manel Kape -240 [favorite] vs. David Dvořák +200
Sergey Morozov -225 [favorite] vs. Journey Newson +190
More MMA news
Follow our dedicated MMA page for instant MMA news and update