5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs Kelvin Gastelum
UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs Kelvin Gastelum was hardly 2021’s most highly anticipated UFC event, but in the end, it provided plenty of good action.
Incredibly, the preliminary portion of this UFC Fight Night was more entertaining than the main card, with several incredible finishes.
With a handful of moments almost guaranteed to make it onto 2021’s UFC highlight reel, fans who only tuned in for the main card would’ve been greatly disappointed to miss the earlier fights.
On that note, here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs Kelvin Gastelum.
#5 Alexandre Pantoja secures a likely UFC title shot with his win over Brandon Royval
Last night’s main card opener between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval was advertised as a likely UFC flyweight title eliminator, and was expected to be a fascinating bout.
The clash delivered on all fronts, and was probably the best fight overall on the main card. Both men went back-and-forth throughout the first round, with Royval’s sheer aggression allowing him to combat the superior technique of Pantoja.
However, ‘The Cannibal’ always looked one step ahead of his opponent - even when ‘Raw Dawg’ appeared to have locked up a potential heel hook during the first round. Indeed, Pantoja remained calm, escaped and ended the round with a heavy combination.
In the second round, though, some beautiful grappling technique allowed Pantoja to take the back of Royval, and from there, he wasted no time in locking down a body triangle before searching for a rear naked choke.
Royval attempted to defend the hold, but ‘The Cannibal’ managed to slide his arm across the neck, and moments later ‘Raw Dawg’ was forced to tap out. Was it an explosive finish compared to some of the ones we saw earlier? Well, no, but it was arguably last night’s slickest, and that counts for a lot too!
The win could hardly have been more impressive for Pantoja, and the fact that he got a slick finish like this only made it better. Hopefully, the UFC can set up a fight between him and current UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno shortly.