UFC 276 Results: Israel Adesanya defends middleweight throne in 5-rounder with Jared Cannonier, calls out Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya defends his title, and calls out Alex Pereira [Photo credit: @ufc on Instagram & ufc.com]

Israel Adesanya notched his third straight win to retain his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276. The stacked event took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The champion once again had a grand entrance. He walked out to the theme of WWE legend The Undertaker, donning the wrestler's signature hat while carrying an urn.

Ready to make middleweights...rest...in...peace.... ⚱️🪦

@Stylebender pays homage to @Undertaker with his #UFC276 entrance! https://t.co/yhKl7807QA

Once the fight began, Adesanya did what he does best, methodically breaking his opponent down through the course of a 25-minute affair. After five rounds, all three judges agreed that Adesanya did enough to secure his fifth title defense. The scores were 49-46, 50-45, and 49-46 in favor of the Nigerian-born Kiwi.

ESTO EMPEZÓ! Hora de la verdad, a quién eligen? #UFC276 https://t.co/dRlxhgrzST

Cannonier put up a tremendous effort, though. From the get-go, the challenger looked to establish control by taking the center of the octagon and stalking the champion. In doing so, however, he allowed Adesanya to stay comfortably in range, riding his bicycle while looking for openings.

Comienza a completar combinaciones efectivas de puños y patadas el campeón Adesanya 🏆 #UFC276 https://t.co/ZGSGNBvznR

Round two was essentially the same story as Adesanya continued to land crisp jabs while chopping down his opponent's lead leg. However, the action paused momentarily after Cannonier was hit with an unintentional eye-poke. After taking a few seconds to recover, 'The Killa Gorilla' insisted that he was ready to resume.

An absolute master of measuring distance and delivering offense!

🏆 @Stylebender making it look easy at times! #UFC276 https://t.co/REbcNQpPEd

Cannonier felt the urgency to increase his activity in round three, but Adesanya was just too quick to hit. The challenger tried to disrupt the champion's tempo by repeatedly clinching and pressing him up against the cage, however, 'The Last Stylebender' easily escaped each time.

𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑳𝑳.

[ @Stylebender | #UFC276 ] https://t.co/xQq7HQJI0v

Adesanya kept his middleweight record unblemished with 12 straight wins in the division. His lone loss came against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz back in March 2021.

What's next for Israel Adesanya?

Israel Adesanya knew exactly who his next challenger will be. Earlier in the night, his former rival Alex Pereira scored a massive knockout win over Sean Strickland, which many believe warrants an automatic title shot against Adesanya.

During his octagon post-fight interview, 'The Last Stylebender' said:

"We know who's next, that's 'Poatan'. Trust me, the first time I told you, it was an error on my part spamming that right hand, but that was in kickboxing. It's easy to knockout that homeboy or what's that hillbilly's name [Sean Strickland], because he was parrying the jabs. But like I said in the press conference, next time I put you on skates, you're gonna get frozen like Elsa. I'll leave it at that."

Watch Israel Adesanya's post-fight interview below:

There's only one man @Stylebender wants next - and that's Alex Pereira 😤 #UFC276 https://t.co/iFNbXt7hdE

Adesanya and Pereira have fought twice before under the Glory banner during their kickboxing days. Pereira got the better of Adesanya both times and scored a knockout win over 'The Last Stylebender' in their final kickboxing meeting.