Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion and play-by-play (main event) as UFC Vegas 66: Cannonier vs. Strickland hails from the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, NV.
The main event of this Fight Night will take place in the middleweight division, with Jared Cannonier looking to bounce back from his loss to then-champion Israel Adesanya by knocking out Sean Strickland, looking to bounce back from a loss of his own to the current champion, Alex Pereira.
This is an ESPN+ program in its entirety, with prelims beginning at 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT and the main card beginning at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. For areas outside the United States, you can watch all scheduled contests on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland
Round 1
They start with a process of excitement, nor excited to participate. Strickland works the legs with his jab. Cannonier counters with a couple of flurries, but nothing comes clean. Strickland looks to counter. Stricklnad is figuring out the distance and finding a home for his jab as he dodges Cannonier’s attacks. Strickland catches a kick from Cannonier and puts him on his back. Cannonier recovers right away, but Strickland clings to his back against the cage and lands a series of short shots before Cannonier escapes. Cannoner in ambush, lands a hard low kick. Strickland dodges a hard punch. Cannoner looks for kicks and a few lands. Good round, but Strickland the busier fighter. Strickland 10-9
Round 2
Cannonier lands the first good shot to open the round. Strickland trips up Cannonier with a caught kick, but doesn’t pursue the takedown. Strickland finds his jab again. Cannonier goes for hard shots and Strickland dodges most of them, the others don’t land cleanly. Cannoner looks for leg kicks again. Strickland struggling to find the jab due to Cannonier’s bulk. Cannonier slows down and Strickland finds a home for some punches. Strickland rushes Cannonier and lands something heavy. Cannonier is not phased and goes after Strickland again. Cannonier lands a nice right to end the round. closed round Gunner 10-9
Round 3
Strickland plays the matador again. Cannonier kicks the leg. Strickland picked up momentum, turning up his volume. He slows down and Cannonier lands a kick to the body. Cannonier throwing a lot of big shots that are largely missing. Strickland doesn’t throw very hard, but they find their home. Cannonier finally lands a big combo, but Strickland isn’t phased. Cannonier lands another big right. Strickland starts to put some power into his shots, but Cannonier blocks most of them. Strickland lands a low kick and checks one from Cannonier. Strickland lands several punches to the head, then proceeds to dodge several punches from Cannonier. Cannonier lands a left to end the round. Another closed round. Strickland 10-9
Round 4
The round opens with them finding their range before Cannonier starts aggressively chasing. Nothing lands like Strickland dodges it. They have a few even exchanges before Strickland starts to land several unanswered exchanges in a row. Cannonier appears injured by one of the punches. Strickland is landing to the head with damn near every blow. Cannonier kicks hard, seeming to wake up. Cannonier is back on offense, but his offense only comes in bursts. Strickland reading this and attacks with the jab in between flurries. Strickland starts to follow through with his jab. Cannonier backs up Strickland and forces Strickland out. Cannonier lands a hard right, but Strickland smiles as he dodges again. Strickland 10-9
Round 5
Strickland hitting with the jab. Cannonier rushes in, but Strickland dodges again. Cannoner looks for straight shots. Strickland fights back, briefly tripping Cannonier. Cannoner goes for hooks again, but doesn’t come close to landing. Strickland lands pepper shots. Cannonier lands a big one, but Strickland isn’t phased. Big right counter from Strickland, followed by a sonic combo from Cannonier. Cannonier blows and counters Strickland with a big combination. Cannonier takes a hard shot and Strickland gets a bloody nose. Cannonier blows a spinning backfist. Strickland supports Cannonier with several one-twos. Strickland is finding his groove. Cannonier lands a big right, follows up with a big combo. Strickalnd fires in a combo and several kicks. Another closed round. Strickland 10-9.
I have it Strickland 49-46 but can see Cannonier 48-47.
Official decision: Jared Cannonier defeated Sean Strickland by split decision (49-46 x2, 46-49)
Arman Tsarukyan defeated. Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Amir Albazi def. Alessandro Costa by TKO (fist cup) at 2:13 of RD3
Alex Cáceres defeated. Julian Erosa by TKO (head kick and punches) at 3:04 of RD1
Drew Dober def. Bobby Green via KO (punch) at 2:45 of RD2
Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Cody Brundage via KO (punches) at 3:16 of RD1
Preliminary Card (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Cory McKenna def. Cheyanne Vlismas by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Matt Semelsberger def. Jake Matthews by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Said Nurmagomedov defeated. Saidyokub Kakhramonov via submission (guillotine) at 3:50 of RD2
Rafa Garcia defeated Maheshate by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Rinat Fakhretdinov defeated. Bryan Battle by unanimous decision (30-25 x2, 30-27)
Manel Cape def. David Dvorak by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Sergey Morozov defeated. Journey Newson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)