Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier full fight video highlights

Watch Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier full fight video highlights from the main event of UFC 276, courtesy of the UFC and other outlets.

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier took place July 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (23-1) put his belt on the line against Jared Cannonier (15-6) in the night’s main event. The fight aired live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Catch the video highlights below.

For more on Adesanya vs. Cannonier, check out the live blog by MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew.

Round 1: Jared is the bigger man, obviously. Izzy looks longer. The men are in the orthodox position to begin, with Izzy setting an extended range of motion to get started. Cannonier carefully cuts the cage and takes the middle.

Izzy lands a low kick and slips the return shot from Cannonier. Cannonier scores a pair decently low kicks. Izzy is not doing much. Few feints, few single shots. Cannonier closing the cage, leg kicks, waiting. Izzy lands a 1-2 as Cannonier steps in. The challenger does light leg kicks. Finding them when Izzy sets his feet.

Izzy lands some kicks and sets the distance for his punches. Crisp jab starting to go to work. Now Izzy getting off some. Feints opening up angles, single shots and a couple of body kicks have come in. He’s on the front foot now.

Izzy scores another few kicks. Nothing major but solid points. Cannonier lands a good leg kick of his own. Although he may not have landed a punch, those kicks were okay. Cannonier ducks under a head kick. Izzy upping the work rate and Cannonier struggling to get inside of the middle distance. Cannonier eats a right hand before the round closes.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya.

Round 2: Wouldn’t be insane to score Round 1 for Cannonier. Izzy was slow to get started and he landed many high kicks.

Izzy is holding the centre to begin here, pressinguring, feinting and trying to get offense to counteroff of. Cannonier with a solid jab. Cannonier missed a head kick. Cannonier takes the center now and lands a solid right hand to the body.

Izzy makes this a tighter fight, and is within striking distance. Izzy kicks the leg off momentarily. Just a stumble. Cannonier had to make big moves to escape from under the cage because Izzy was very good at cutting it. One is done and Cannonier has Izzy on the fence. He then lands a bodyshot.

Cannonier focuses on the body consistently. Love that. Izzy supports him to let him lead, but only for a short time. Cannonier staying on him. Cannonier doesn’t bite anymore, and Izzy feinting is more common than throwing. Cannonier changes levels but doesn’t even shoot. It’s not even close to the wrestling scene there.

Izzy on the lead and lands a good body shot but nearly eats a massive right hand from Cannonier. Adesanya is not being enough. Nice right hand lands though. Cannonier takes a finger to the eye and we’ve got a break. Cannonier gets a towel briefly but waives off the stop. The champ is warned by Herb Dean and they’re back in action.

Cannonier throws a huge right hand but it misses. Izzy takes the lead. Cannonier lands some leg kicks. Izzy and Short Time are now aggressively moving forward, but they can’t score anything before the round ends.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya, 20-18 Adesanya overall.

Round 3: Wouldn’t stun me if Cannonier won both rounds. Although Adesanya is clearly the better striker, he doesn’t really stand out at the moment. Cannonier’s right eye is a bit swollen though.

Izy comes out with kicks to start the third. Cannonier is on his backfoot, and he’s going low, body high. Nice counter by Cannonier lands. And a solid low kick of his own. Feints and range from both.

Cannonier attempts a clinch, but Izzy sees the opportunity and almost lands a kick on the break. However, he does manage to land a great jab. The champ kicks his leg. Cannonier lands to the body.

Adesanya is outpointing Cannonier cleanly here, but this is not the KO finish he promised. Cannonier changes levels and forces the clinch. He backs Izzy to the fence and Izzy is defending the takedown but Cannonier lands some left hands in there before Izzy can break.

Cannonier struggling with the range but he’s staying active and Adesanya is playing a lot of defense now. Cannonier missing but getting close. Izzy hits a combination and gets blocked with a head kick. Right hand from Cannonier leads to a clinch. Izzy is being smothered by his double unders. Champ trying to dig an underhook but Cannonier holding him and landing some knees. Izzy can’t break the grip. Not doing much but staying busy and the round ends right after Adesanya breaks position and lands a knee.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Cannonier, 29-28 Adesanya overall.

Round 4: I’m gonna be honest, this fight is not the best. Although Man had an amazing walkout, he is turning in a disappointing main event. Championship rounds might change things.

Good jab from Izzy is the first meaningful shot of the round. And a front kick. Cannonier on the lead now and Adesanya pot shotting as he comes in, but eats a body shot. The champ gets a nasty kick. and a jab. Cannonier is still behind because of the range.

Cannonier attempts to push Cannonier off with a nice right hand. Cannonier comes in behind a combo and lands the final punch. He lands a kick to his body and then he returns in space.

Izzy steps in and Cannonier ducks to double unders and forces Izzy to the cage. He gets some chipping shots off with his left hand but Izzy breaks. Izzy leading behind the jab now.

I am astonished by the lack of boo birds for this bout. There has been some other stuff, but it is all minor. Cannonier is unable to navigate the range. Adesanya hits kicks or jabs, Cannonier grabs an oblique, and they hold it for quite a while. Then, we go back to square one. This might seem smart, but it is a disappointing way to lose one of your title fights. And if you’re Adesanya, this is a disappointing performance when you are in the star-making position. Round ends.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya, 39-37 Adesanya overall.

Round 5: Respect to Cannonier’s corner who told him he was down 3-1 and needed a finish. They are correct. He might get a little reckless. And he does come out with a big right to start and a lot of bounce. Maybe this can be a fun round.

Izzy feinting, moving away, sticking the jab and a left hand. The body is attacked by Cannonier. Izzy hits a low kick. His jab is blocked by a high kick. Cannonier comes in and Izzy turns. Good jab.

Any hope for fun Cannonier seems to be gone. The distance is captivating him. He is swinging but not very hard and getting pulled back. Izzy comes in, and Cannonier gets another win. Here we go again.

This clinch lasts for a while, but it is not over and the bos are falling. 90 seconds of this forgettable fight left. Izzy seems happy to just sit here and wait out what should be a win. Tonight, man is not going to make any statements.

Cannonier tries for one, but it’s not close. Adesanya easily defends and thens pops a nice jab. Cannonier charging in with a minute left and lands a good shot. Clinch. Break. Izzy closes the distance in a short amount of time, and then lands a huge right hand. Bolo punch. Very aggressive to end the bout. Nothing cool happens though and this mostly awful fight is finally over.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Israel Adesanya, 49-46 Adesanya overall.

Israel Adesanya def. Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) to retain the UFC middleweight title.