5 reasons to watch UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Despite being the first UFC event in two weeks, UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum doesn’t seem to be getting too much attention right now. That isn’t entirely fair.
The event, also dubbed UFC Vegas 34, isn’t the greatest card of all time on paper, but it still has plenty of potential to be an entertaining one.
With some exciting fighters and highly-ranked prospects up and down the card, this show should be well worth watching for any UFC fan.
Here are five reasons why you need to watch UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum.
#5. Alexandre Pantoja might be the best flyweight in the UFC right now
Brandon Moreno might be the current UFC flyweight champion, but is ‘The Assassin Baby’ really the best 125lber in the UFC? On the face of it, of course he is – he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo, after all.
However, Alexandre Pantoja, who fights at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night event against Brandon Royval, may also have a claim to being the promotion’s top flyweight.
‘The Cannibal’ was defeated by Figueiredo in their fight at UFC 240, and also suffered a contentious loss to Askar Askarov in 2020, but he’s also the last fighter to hand Moreno a defeat in the octagon.
So while Askarov is ranked above him right now, if Pantoja can pick up an impressive win over Royval this weekend, there’s every chance that the UFC could book him into a title fight with Moreno in the near future, especially with Askarov's injury.
Will Pantoja win this weekend? On the face of it, he should. Royval is a dangerous fighter with excellent skills, particularly on the ground, but ‘The Cannibal’ essentially has no weaknesses.
A high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with incredibly heavy hands, Pantoja has finished opponents inside the octagon with both submissions and with brutal knockouts. And it’s likely that an opponent as aggressive as Royval will play into his hands, handing him another highlight reel finish.
And even if that isn’t enough to net Pantoja a UFC title shot, then it’ll at least provide fans with an entertaining fight this weekend.