Cannonier Stops Rodrigues At UFC Vegas 102
Jared Cannonier stopped Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth round to get his first win in over two years at UFC Vegas 102.
The 40-year-old took his record to 18-8 but had to overcome some major adversity to get the win. Rodrigues was the much better fight early on. He connected with two right hands to drop Cannonier in the first round. But Cannonier showed his experience in managing to recover and turn the fight around. Cannonier switched up his attacks by targeting the midsection, legs and head to keep his opponent guessing.
Cannonier landed the most significant strike in round three. A standing elbow buzzed Rodrigues, who was severely hurt. Cannonier was close to getting the finish, only for the bell to sound. Cannonier made no mistake in the fourth. He came out throwing his strikes once he had his man on the floor. Rodrigues now has plenty of things to ponder after seeing his three-fight win streak end.
Post-Fight
“It feels great, man. 2024 was losses – not just in the octagon, but loss in my personal life, as well. 2024, I’m so happy to put that behind me. I’m so happy 2025 is getting off on a good note, on a good foot. Camp was great. I learned a lot throughout camp. The whole fight week process was awesome. If you were to look at the rankings, I would like a ranked opponent for sure.
“I think for sure, I’m going to get a ranked opponent after that victory. I would like to fight a ranking higher than me. Unfortunately, all the people ranked higher than me are either in line for a title shot or on the way for a title shot, or just beat me. But I’m not going to rule anything out. If they say, ‘Hey, Jared, we need you to fight Dricus for the belt,’ I’m like, ‘Hell yes. I’m ready,” Cannonier said
Full Card
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier stopped Gregory Rodrigues with punches (TKO) at 0:21 of Round 4.
Featherweight: Youssef Zalal beat Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision (29-28 on all scorecards).
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan stopped Dylan Budka with strikes (TKO) at 1:35 of Round 1.
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov won by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) against Ismael Bonfim at the end of Round 1.
Middleweight: Andre Petroski defeated Rodolfo Vieira by unanimous decision (29-28 on all scorecards).
Preliminary Card
Featherweight: Jose Delgado knocked out Connor Matthews with strikes at 2:58 of Round 2.
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill edged out Ketlen Souza by split decision (29-28 on all scorecards).
Flyweight: Rafael Estevam defeated Jesús Santos Aguilar by unanimous decision (29-28 on all scorecards).
Welterweight: Gabriel Bonfim submitted Khaos Williams with a D’arce choke at 4:58 of Round 2.
Bantamweight: Elijah Smith beat Vince Morales by unanimous decision (29-28 on all scorecards).
Heavyweight: Valter Walker submitted Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook at 1:17 of Round 1.
Women’s Bantamweight: Jacqueline Cavalcanti dominated Julia Avila by unanimous decision (30-27 on all scorecards). Avila retires.
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