MMA Preview – Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson at UFC 271
JARED CANNONIER VS DEREK BRUNSON FACTS
When is UFC 271? Sunday 13rd February, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 271? Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 271? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 271
What channel is UFC 271 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 271? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
JARED CANNONIER VS DEREK BRUNSON LOWDOWN
After suffering the first loss of his middleweight career, Jared Cannonier (14-5) is back in the win column with a classy unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. Almost a year prior in October 2020, he ran into Robert Whittaker after winning all three of his middleweight bouts. He knocked out David Branch (2018), TKO’d Anderson Silva and finished Jack Hermanson (2019). He was steamrolling his way to a title shot, Whittaker stopped him in his tracks with a unanimous decision and now has the chance to win his belt back in the main event.
No one has come close to stopping Derek Brunson (23-7) since he met Israel Adesanya in 2018. The current champion schooled him and dished out Brunson’s second embarrassing knockout in a row which forced him back to the drawing board. He went back to his wrestling strengths and has gone on to earn unanimous decisions over Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch (2019), TKO Edmen Shahbazyan (2020), another unanimous decision over Kevin Holland (2021) and submit Darren Till (2021).
JARED CANNONIER VS DEREK BRUNSON PREDICTION
The abandonment of Brunson’s reckless striking has not won him many new fans, but he is now in the form of his life and on his way to a title shot and his new wrestling heavy approach is clearly the key to earning his sixth win in a row.
Cannonier is one of the most dangerous strikers in the division and Brunson will no doubt try and get him on his back and keep him there. Brunson has taken down all five of his opponents from the win streak with a success rate of 42% which is very good considering their takedown defence however, more importantly he managed to keep them on the ground and even finished Shahbazyan and Till there.
Cannonier has a 85% takedown defence at middleweight fighting four brilliant wrestlers. If he can defend 85% of Brunson’s takedowns, you have to back him to find the knockout. Brunson has poor striking defence and Cannonier has one-punch knockout power.
This will be a Cannonier knockout or a grinding decision for Brunson. As Brunson is the underdog, he is the smart pick, but we feel Cannonier’s brute strength will allow him to keep the fight standing long enough to land a bomb on Brunson’s damaged chin.
Prediction: Cannonier via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Brunson via Decision
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