UFC Fight Night 216: Cannonier vs. Strickland Odds, Schedule, Predictions
Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland will close out the UFC's 2022 offerings in an intriguing middleweight clash from the UFC APEX Facility in Las Vegas.
Cannonier has one of the more unique career arcs in the UFC. The slugger has notched wins as a heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight, and his ability to fight at a high level in all three weight classes is a rare feat.
Currently, he's plying his trade at middleweight. Coming off a loss to Israel Adesanya in a championship fight, he's going to need a strong performance to get back into the mix.
Strickland is in need of some redemption himself. He was knocked out by Alex Pereira the last time we saw him in the bout that set up the former kickboxer's title shot and eventual win over Adesanya.
Here's a look at what else the card has to offer and predictions for the biggest fights of the night.
UFC Fight Night 216 Fight Card, Schedule and Odds
Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Jared Cannonier (-110; bet $110 to win $100) vs. Sean Strickland (-110)
Arman Tsarukyan (-195) vs. Damir Ismagulov (+165; bet $100 to win $165)
Amir Albazi (-425) vs. Alessandro Costa (+340)
Alex Caceres (+140) vs. Julian Erosa (-165)
Drew Dober (-155) vs. Bobby Green (+135)
Michal Oleksiejczuk (-285) vs. Cody Brundage (+240)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)
Cheyanne Vlismas (-180) vs. Cory McKenna (+155)
Jake Matthews (-305) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (+255)
Said Nurmagomedov (-105) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (-115)
Rafa Garcia (-150) vs. Maheshate (+130)
Bryan Battle (+130) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (-150)
Manel Kape (-250) vs. David Dvorak (+210)
Sergey Morozov (-305) vs. Journey Newson (+255)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Cannonier vs. Strickland
The main event is interesting because of where both fighters' careers are right now, but the styles match up nicely as well.
Jared Cannonier is a bit of a one-tool wonder, but the one tool happens to be a jackhammer of a right hand. The former heavyweight's punches still possess raw heavyweight power, and that gives him a shot at ending any fight he's in.
The problem for him is how much he relies on it. He's a relatively low-volume striker and doesn't look to wrestle. That leaves him with just about one way to win a fight.
Sean Strickland, on the other hand, can win a fight in a variety of ways. He pushes a good pace on the feet; his use of the jab will set him apart from Cannonier there. But he also has good offensive wrestling if he chooses to use it.
The 31-year-old curiously avoided using his grappling against Alex Pereira. That resulted in a first-round knockout loss to the now-champion. If he learned his lesson and grapples early, he has a clear path to victory.
He should wear out Cannonier early with wrestling before utilizing pace and his jab to win the stand-up in the later rounds.
Prediction: Strickland via decision
Tsarukyan vs. Ismagulov
Arman Tsarukyan and Damir Ismagulov might not be household names right now, but the pair of lightweights have a lot of potential.
Tsarukyan, 26, is coming off a loss to Mateusz Gamrot, his second in the Octagon in seven fights. But that first loss came at the hands of Islam Makhachev, which is an outcome that has aged well.
His bout against Gamrot was a Fight of the Night that went to a decision, so it wasn't like it was one-way traffic.
He's still a tremendous pressure wrestler who is comfortable pushing a fast pace.
Ismagulov won't be deterred by that. He's similar in his approach, attempting several takedowns per round to get his opponent to the mat.
The only thing holding him back from climbing the ladder is style points. The 31-year-old has gone to the cards in each of his five UFC fights.
Granted, he's won all of them and hasn't lost a fight since 2015. But at some point, it takes more than just winning to become a UFC star and contender.
Tsarukyan has the ability to test him in ways that he hasn't been challenged. This one should be a barn burner and is likely to come down to the judges.
Prediction: Tsarukyan via decision
Albazi vs. Costa
Amir Albazi has wasted no time introducing himself to the flyweight division. The Iraqi fighter has stormed into the top 10 of the division just three fights into his UFC tenure. He's 3-0 with two submission wins.
That includes a rear-naked choke in the first round of his fight against Francisco Figueiredo last time out.
Albazi was supposed to get the chance to prove himself against a well-known veteran in Alex Perez. However, Perez was forced out of the fight, and Brandon Royval was slotted in to be his replacement.
Unfortunately, a broken wrist for Royval took him out of the fight as well. But the UFC has an interesting replacement in Alessandro Costa. The Brazilian will make his organizational debut on the strength of a seven-fight win streak that includes three knockouts in his last four fights.
Albazi's grappling figures to be the difference here. He's not only a good wrestler, but he also has an aggressive submission game as well.
If the fight stays on the feet, he's a deft striker, too, but he should be looking to make quick work of someone with no UFC experience.
Prediction: Albazi via first-round submission
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