Jared Cannonier sets UFC record in massive win over Marvin Vettori

MANILA, Philippines – Two hundred forty-one significant strikes. That is how many punches Marvin Vettori ate for dinner in the main event of UFC Fight Night last Sunday at the Apex in Las Vegas, which was televised live in the Philippines via the Premier Sports Channel and on TapGo TV.

By the time the five rounds ended and went to the judges’ scorecards who called it 49-45 (twice) and 48-46 for Jared Cannonier, Vettori’s handsome face was a bloody pulp.

Whatever he said about unveiling new tactics? Well, it was gone with the wind as Cannonier dropped the insane barrage of strikes — 55 more than the previous record of 186.

And let’s be clear — significant strikes out of a total of 428. 

"That was the plan: pressure. If I gave you the room, I knew you would do whatever you want. After the Adesanya fight, my goal was to increase my output — I'll take that notch in my belt and cement myself in history,” said Cannonier post-fight. 

In all fairness, Vettori did put up a fight, eating much but also dishing out some punishment as he countered with 153 significant strikes of his own that rocked Cannonier as he looked to make it a short evening as of the first round.

However, Cannonier found his second gear and Vettori couldn’t catch up. And as a result, the Italian lost his second fight in his most recent three to drop to 19-7-1. His consolation was, he wasn’t finished at all by Cannonier. Furthermore, the bout was adjudged Fight of the Night. 

“Marvin's never been finished in the Octagon, hats off to him. I'm happy I got to display more of my skill set in here and show the world that I'm still at the top of my game, and I'm only getting better."

So now, champion Israel Adesanya is once more in his sights. But that will have to wait as the champion will battle either Khamzat Chimaev, Robert Whittaker or Dricus du Plessis.

In the co-main event, eighth-ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan, who previously said that Brazilian Joaquim Silva was not at the same level as him, got into a scrap. 

Tsarukyan was almost finished in the second round, dug deep, and came out in the third with a dominating performance that earned him the technical knockout. 

Tsarukyan said, "I felt this was the first time to have punches that were super tough, but I didn't accept that. I was calm, and I said I was going to knock him out and I did it. I'm not just talking. I'm going to be number one contender. When I first fought Islam Makhachev, you gave me three weeks. If you give me eight weeks, I'm going to smash him.”

The next UFC event is this Sunday, June 25, with Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria billed as the main event.