Cannonier Gets Back on the Right Track Defeats Kelvin Gastelum via UD

Jared Cannonier defeated Kelvin Gastelum tonight in the headline fight of the UFC on ESPN 29. The “Killa Gorilla” was better than the former middleweight interim title challenger, out striking him and perfectly handling all of Gastelum’s attempts to hurt him.

In the end, all three judges scored in Cannoniere’s favor, 48-47, 48-47, 48-47. The overall impression was that the Cannoniere was much more convincing than the result really shows. After the battle, he didn’t hide the thrill because of a victory, his first in more than 12 months.

“It’s always glorious to go five rounds with a guy like Kelvin at that level,” Cannonier said. “Winning is even more glorious, if you will. I’m happy.”

Cannonier/Gastelum Scorecards

All 3 judges scored the rounds exactly the same. pic.twitter.com/gKgYmqiOzh

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 22, 2021

The 37-year old was much confident than Gastelum, who did have the initiative and was more active but without any result. Cannonier would wait for his chance to strike, not rushing into any situations that he wouldn’t predict at first.

During the third round, one clean right dropped Gastelum, who quickly got up, but only received one high kick, and a few more strong punches to the head. Cannonier didn’t end the fight in those moments, but he continued to patiently collect points and crack Gastelum’s defense.

Even though the younger fighter turned up the tempo in the final two rounds, Cannonier responded well, slightly slowing down, but still hitting the target each time there was a chance for that.

Gastelum was without a solution on how to break Cannonier’s stance. On a few occasions, he went for a takedown, but without success. A lot more was expected from him, yet he failed to show up. This loss comes as one more surprise for the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 17.

He now has five losses in the last six matches, four via decision. Earlier this year, in April, he suffered a defeat to the former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, in the bout that showed that Gastelum still has what it takes to stay in the division’s top echelon.

After this one, he will for sure drop out of the top 10, but knowing his mentality, there is no doubt that Gastelum could fight back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RScumJwDBlw

On the other side, Cannonier is waiting for a chance to fight for the title. His loss to Whittaker slowed down that process, but he should get the opportunity to meet the winner of the Adesanya vs. Whittaker rematch once it happens. All the relevant sources are suggesting that these two guys will meet in the next few months.

“After a hard-fought win like that, hell yeah I want the title,” Cannonier stated. “But it’s not up to me. It’s up to the matchmakers and the UFC brass. I just went out there and did the best I could to send a message.”

Since coming down from the light heavyweight division, Cannonier created havoc in the middleweight. He would first defeat David Branch, then Anderson Silva before the third straight victory, this time against Jack Hermansson. All these triumphs were via KO. Then came a decision loss to Whittaker, in a three-round match.

His powerful punches became a problem for all the middleweights, and so far apart from Whittaker, there haven’t been any fighters able to respond properly to this. Gastelum wasn’t KOd, but he too couldn’t go against Cannonier’s raw power.