UFC 276 PPV Preview

Mixed martial arts fans have already been treated to a plethora of enthralling UFC cards in 2022, and this weekend’s event is set to be a mammoth date in the promotion’s calendar. The next numbered instalment is headlined by two title fights across the middleweight and featherweight divisions, not to mention multiple eye-catching bouts preceding them. Rivalries continue and prospects look to surge up the rankings in UFC 276’s main card, under the observant gaze of a global audience.

Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley

The pay-per-view kicks off with an intriguing bantamweight clash between ninth-ranked Munhoz and thirteenth-ranked ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. The latter has been a star-studded revelation since entering the promotion back in 2017, utilising his high-output striking game to cause colossal damage to his opponents. The 27-year-old averages a whopping 8.26 significant strikes landed per minute (SLpM), and has recorded five knockout wins in his last six fights. O’Malley did concede a TKO loss to Marlon Vera almost two years ago, although this was mainly due to a lower-leg injury he sustained early on in the bout.

Munhoz, on the other hand, is certainly a bantamweight veteran. The Brazilian’s record boasts pretty much all of the biggest names the division has had to offer in recent years, with his last six fights being: Cody Garbrandt, Aljamain Sterling, Frankie Edgar, Jimmie Rivera, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz. Many think the 35-year-old is a perfect opponent for ‘Sugar’ given the height and speed difference, yet the American has shown a vulnerability to leg kicks in particular, which could be the key for Munhoz if he was to end his current losing streak. Expect O’Malley to take full advantage of his reach and throw countless spinning kicks to his counterpart’s wider torso.

Robbie Lawler vs. Bryan Barberena

This clash was pushed up to the main card due to a cancelled women’s flyweight bout between Lauren Murphy and Miesha Tate. Despite recent woes throughout the last five years, Robbie Lawler has been a mainstay in the welterweight rankings for the best part of seven years. Viewers were treated to a veteran clash in the American’s sole fight of 2021, as he beat decade-long rival Nick Diaz via TKO in the third round. Although many fans believed Lawler had lost much of his striking power, ‘Ruthless’ still emerged decisively victorious from UFC 266.

Bryan Barberena acts as tomorrow evening’s opponent, and enters the bout off the back of two decision wins against Darian Weeks and Matt Brown. The 33-year-old has described his upcoming appearance as ‘the dream fight’, and that for his MMA career “it doesn’t get much better than this.” ‘Bam Bam’ has certainly earned this payday however, putting in several entertaining performances (no more so than versus Brown) since first entering the promotion back in 2014. Barberena has gained a reputation for being able to take some gigantic shots to his chin while remaining seemingly unfazed. As previously mentioned, Lawler’s power has been doubted since the Diaz fight, which may just play perfectly in his opponent’s favour.

Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira

A fight to determine the next title shot. It appears the stars are aligning for Alex Pereira, the world’s former #1 ranked middle and light heavyweight kickboxer, to face his long-time nemesis for the belt. Given the fact ‘Poatan’ has had just six professional MMA fights, it seems insane he could soon be challenging for UFC gold. The Brazilian can, however, boast to be the only man on the planet to knockout Israel Adesanya (kickboxing) while also defeating the Nigerian via decision before that. Pereira comes into tomorrow’s event with a duo of promotion wins, his last one going the distance against a talented fighter in Bruno Silva, who certainly pushed the 34-year-old to the best of his ability.

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Standing in his way is the experienced Sean Strickland. The American almost felt like a forgotten man for the majority of the build-up given the Pereira-Adesanya rivalry (at least until yesterday’s press conference). He even admitted to reporters the fight is “purely just a ploy by the UFC” to set up that exact title fight. ‘Tarzan’ currently ranks fourth in the middleweight roster, and comes into the bout on a six-fight winning streak with an unbeaten record at 185 lb. Strickland’s strategy will likely be to attempt an early takedown and sap the energy from Pereira, who will definitely have the stand-up advantage. Look out for the Brazilian’s formidable left-hook, which has been known to drop many a fighter throughout recent times.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway – UFC Men’s Featherweight Championship bout:

UFC 276’s co-main event adds another instalment into the greatest featherweight rivalry of all time. For Alexander Volkanovski, a win would almost definitely put a final nail in the coffin for any comparative conversations. The Australian ranks second in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings, with a flawless record since entering the UFC over six years ago. Volkanovski’s overwhelming striking and advancement, alongside his ridiculous chin strength, has remained a catalyst for featherweight domination. Across his career, he averages a SLpM of 6.63 with an accuracy of 57%, emphasising the sheer amount of strikes his opponents’ will generally need to withstand.

A number of MMA enthusiasts already put ‘The Great’ alongside Aldo in the 145 lb G.O.A.T conversation, an argument which was further broadened following his comfortable victory over The Korean Zombie back in April.

Tomorrow, however, he’ll be facing a more than familiar opponent and fan-favourite in Max Holloway. There’s no denying the talent that ‘Blessed’ holds, and on the feet he’s outperformed all but one throughout the featherweight division on numerous occasions. Since his last loss to Volkanovski, the American has beaten both Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodríguez via decision, earning two Fight of the Night awards in the process. Holloway’s striking output is almost incomparable in the UFC’s history, and he’s broken several promotion records including most significant strikes in one fight (290), as well as being the only fighter with more than 3,000 strikes on his record.

It will be intriguing to see if Holloway can continue to maintain his exceptional chin strength. All of the 30-year-old’s fights have gone the distance since 2018, and in that time he’s taken an uncountable amount of hits. It’s also worth noting both tomorrow’s fight and the Rodríguez clash were forced to be rescheduled due to his injuries. ‘Blessed’ will have to remain defensively sharp if he wants to regain UFC gold.

Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier – UFC Men’s Middleweight Championship bout:

‘The Last Stylebender’ has named his upcoming opponent as a ‘dark horse’ at 185 lb for a number of years now. The validity of that description will be tested tomorrow night.

Israel Adesanya has, for the most part, made lightwork of the division throughout his illustrious career to-date, and remains undefeated against all middleweight opponents. The Nigerian’s repeated utilisation of feints and high-level kickboxing has worked wonders, especially alongside a brilliant takedown defence which has allowed fights to be dictated on his terms. He beat Robert Whittaker for the second time in his previous outing, although his usual flamboyance and creative skills were put slightly on hold aside from a first round knockdown. While averaging just over 2.5 strikes absorbed per minute (SApM), it’s obvious Adesanya has his defensive skillset honed in too.

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— UFC (@ufc) June 30, 2022

Not many have given Jared Cannonier much of a chance in the lead-up to the weekend’s main event, something which has seen many of his highly-regarded attributes overlooked. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ has previously fought at both 265 and 205 lb, gifting him with demolishing power for someone in the middleweight division. He’s lost just once at this weight class (Whittaker via decision), with five of his six wins coming down to an early stoppage. The 38-year-old puts a heavy focus on his boxing skillset, although his kicking game should also be acknowledged, something MMA veteran Anderson Silva found out the hard way.

Cannonier overcame an in-form Derek Brunson over four months ago using vicious ground elbows in the second round, although many were quick to call the fight ‘slow’ and ‘sluggish’ for the majority of its tenure. The American will know that, at his age, this will probably be his last chance at a title shot. If he starts to go behind on the scorecards, expect the challenger to begin throwing some wild shots in hope of a finish.

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