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Brett Okamoto
Jared Cannonier saved his night — and possibly his career — with an inspiring comeback victory Saturday in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Cannonier (18-8) knocked out Gregory Rodrigues with standing strikes at the 21-second mark of the fourth round. The finish came after a nightmarish opening round for Cannonier inside the Apex, in which he was dropped twice and looked to be on the verge of a knockout loss himself.
“I guess I was hurt enough to get dropped on my ass a couple times,” Cannonier said. “But [that’s natural]. Gregory hits hard as hell and he was slinging some big-ass shots. I was able to weather the storm and keep my composure, even in those tough spots.”
Rodrigues (16-6) took an incredibly aggressive approach in the opening round, as he committed to walking Cannonier down with power right hands. Cannonier, 40, had no answer for the early power and was routinely put on his back foot. He tried to counter Rodrigues but was more or less on autopilot by the end of the round after the two knockdowns.
Rodrigues, of Brazil, appeared to slow down as early as the second round, though. His power diminished, along with a noticeable dip in his speed. Cannonier, whose back was against the wall coming off consecutive losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho, sensed the dip in Rodrigues’ energy and pounced. He opened a cut on Rodrigues’ left cheek with the jab and started to land his own power shots to the body and head.
Cannonier dropped Rodrigues with a nasty right elbow in the clinch near the end of the third round. He followed with ground-and-pound, but Rodrigues was ultimately saved by the bell.
Rodrigues’ corner tried to rally him before the fourth, but he was a sitting target the moment the round started. Cannonier opened up with more shots to the body and head, and Rodrigues quickly folded.
“I didn’t hear the bell at the end of the [third] round,” Cannonier said. “I thought I had finished the fight. I got up and looked around and was like, ‘How come no one is as excited as I am?'”
It’s a much-needed victory for Cannonier, who went into Saturday as the No. 7-ranked middleweight in the UFC despite an 0-2 mark in 2024. For Rodrigues, who made his first appearance in a UFC main event, the loss snapped a three-fight win streak.