The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 160: Hermansson vs. Cannonier
Well, despite not having a lot of name value, it’d be hard to call UFC Fight Night 160 – the promotion’s debut in Denmark – anything but a success. The show delivered hugely when it came to action, with four of the six main card fights ending in finishes and the two that went the distance being entertaining too.
Along the way we got the emergence of new contenders at Light-Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight – and the Danish crowd were also sent home happy after the two native fighters on the card – Nicolas Dalby and Mark Madsen – left with their hands raised.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 160: Hermansson vs. Cannonier.
#1 Best: Cannonier stakes his claim
Last night’s main event – a Middleweight showdown between Jack Hermansson and Jared Cannonier – sounded like a lot of fun on paper, and due to the status of both men as rising stars, it seemed guaranteed to throw up a potential new title contender in the division. Most fans – myself included – seemed to be favouring Hermansson after his masterful victory over Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza earlier in 2019, but it turned out we were way wrong.
Hermansson was the clear crowd favourite, unsurprisingly given he hails from Sweden, but it looked to me like he was almost too nervy last night, and while he pushed the pace in his trademark style, it felt like he was too committed to taking Cannonier down. And despite arguably winning the first round, that commitment allowed Cannonier to really work his striking.
And early in the second round, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ capitalised, landing a clean uppercut that dropped Hermansson before finishing him off with some violent shots on the ground. Despite beating Anderson Silva last time out, I still wasn’t sure about Cannonier as a legitimate contender at 185lbs. Last night was enough to change my mind – so hopefully the UFC throws him into a potential #1 contender’s match next.