ESPN’s MMA contributors break down the biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Hermansson:
Ariel Helwani’s Fight Night takeaways
The year isn’t over yet, but Jared Cannonier has to be on the short list for most improved and breakout fighter of the year.
I mean, did you really see this coming?
True, he showed brief signs of brilliance Saturday as a heavyweight and light heavyweight, but it never really seemed he would be a force to be reckoned with. And, after last year losing his second in a row — a first-round TKO loss to future contender Dominick Reyes — it seemed like Cannonier had hit his ceiling as a UFC fighter.
Not so.
Late last year, he beat up David Branch at MSG in his middleweight debut. But, while that was impressive, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Cannonier’s place in the 185-pound division. After all, fighters don’t usually drop down from heavyweight to middleweight. Could he consistently make this cut?
Then he knocked off Anderson Silva in Brazil. Very solid win, but is Silva shot? Hard to say.
And now the 35-year-old beats the streaking Jack Hermansson in Denmark. OK, I’m sold. That’s 3-0 since dropping down to middleweight (not to mention three fights where he was essentially fighting the local guy). In case you forgot, Hermansson was riding a four-fight winning streak going into this fight and coming off an impressive victory over Jacare Souza.
Not bad for a former Federal Aviation Administration employee who only recently decided to leave that job to focus all his attention on MMA.
All in all, a lovely performance by Cannonier to cap off a solid card in Copenhagen. Here are a few other things I loved about Saturday’s card:
1. I loved Cannonier’s postfight interview. I love when interviewers give winners a little longer to share their thoughts and don’t just pepper them with questions. I also loved how Dan Hardy let Cannonier just talk. Well done by both men.
2. I loved how respectful the crowd was all night. I guess that should be expected from the residents of one of the happiest countries on earth.
3. I loved seeing Benson Henderson in Cannonier’s corner 24 hours after he headlined (and won) the Bellator Dublin card. What a teammate.
4. I loved Mark O. Madsen‘s debut. The UFC couldn’t have scripted that better. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist is definitely one to watch.
5. I loved seeing the greatest Danish UFC fighter of all time, Martin Kampmann, cornering Madsen. A passing of the torch, if you will.
6. I loved seeing Ovince Saint Preux win his fourth UFC fight via Von Flue (aka Von Preux) choke. I think it might be time to permanently rebrand that choke name.
7. I loved seeing Nicolas Dalby back in the UFC. Sure, the refereeing in that fight was questionable, but seeing him fight back and get a victory in front of his hometown crowd was great.
8. I loved on the undercard seeing the “White Mike Tyson,” John Phillips, break a streak of five consecutive decisions with the third-fastest knockout in middleweight division history — 17 seconds.
9. I loved seeing Lina Lansberg, who was originally brought to the UFC as a sacrificial lamb for Cris Cyborg, win her second in a row versus a formidable foe in Macy Chiasson.
10. I loved seeing Gilbert Burns win his second consecutive short-notice fight at 170. He should stay in that weight class.
After a victorious return to the UFC, @DalbyMMA was visited by an old friend backstage… 📸@DarrenTill2 #UFCCopenhagen 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/de2uPq0giJ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 28, 2019
11. I loved seeing former foes Dalby and Darren Till meet again backstage four years after they fought to a draw.
Brett Okamoto on what’s next
Jared Cannonier, middleweight
Result: Defeated Jack Hermansson via second-round TKO
Next: Yoel Romero
Book this, and make it a No. 1 contender fight. You can make the argument this is too much, too soon for Cannonier. As great as his rise through the middleweight division has been, he doesn’t deserve to jump to a No. 1 contender fight for beating Hermansson. Sure, you can make that argument, but I disagree. Cannonier has caught lightning in a bottle. He’s on fire.
Romero wants a title shot and believes he deserves one, but he’s 1-3 in his past four. That record doesn’t tell the full story of those four fights, but at the end of the day, it’s still 1-3. He needs a win to fight for the belt again, and Cannonier is the guy. There’s excitement around him. He’s finishing fights. It kind of reminds me of when Volkan Oezdemir caught fire in the light heavyweight division a couple years ago. The UFC should ride the hot hand here and make this a No. 1 contender fight.
Jack Hermansson, middleweight
Result: Lost to Jared Cannonier via second-round TKO
Next: Derek Brunson
This result stings, but it’s not the end of the world for Hermansson. The middleweight division is sort of in a weird spot. Some of the biggest names we’ve come to associate with 185 pounds — Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Jacare Souza — are moving up to 205. In some ways, that hurts the division; big names jumping ship. But it also opens opportunities for someone like Brunson. By default, he’s going to see his name rise in the rankings.
And according to the rankings, this is the next fight to make for Hermansson. This loss drops him from that top tier of contenders, unfortunately. To get back into serious title contention, he’s going to need to beat one of the top guys. And to even pick a fight with one of the top guys, he needs to take a step backward and beat someone like Brunson.
Mark O. Madsen, lightweight
Result: Defeated Danilo Belluardo via first-round TKO
Next: Te Edwards
Finding the right match for Madsen is challenging right now. It’s tempting to throw the 35-year-old to the wolves. This is a three-time Olympic wrestler, after all, and a silver medalist in 2016. He possesses a dominant skill, and his development as an MMA fighter is clearly on an accelerated pace. Madsen has thrown 100% of his focus into MMA. He knows he’s getting a late start, and he’s bent on making the most of his time.
Edwards is a Dana White Contender Series alum, on the brink of a release after an 0-2 start. He’s coming off a tough matchup against a veteran in Dennis Bermudez. He fits the mold of the kind of opponent Madsen should face next. And if Madsen continues to look as good as he did Saturday, expect his level of competition to rise very quickly.
Gilbert Burns, welterweight
Result: Defeated Gunnar Nelson via unanimous decision
Next: Li Jingliang
First off, it’s great seeing Burns at 170 pounds. He doesn’t look undersized at all. I believe we’ll see his power carry up just fine to this weight, and his striking in general continues to evolve under the tutelage of Henri Hooft. Burns has always carried plenty of potential, and this is the weight class for him to realize it in.
Jingliang is arguably deserving of a higher-ranked opponent, but I like this matchup. Jingliang is coming off the most signature win of his career, a third-round stoppage over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. This would be an important, telling fight between two promising welters who could turn into legitimate contenders.
Marc Raimondi on Madsen’s debut
Madsen appears to be the real deal. He has the wrestling pedigree to be trouble for just about anyone in the lightweight division if he gets his hands on them. We didn’t really get a look at his striking or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, since he took down and pounded out Danilo Belluardo in just 1:12. So the complete picture is not there. Belluardo has also never won a UFC fight and is a journeyman. But in the history of MMA, a strong wrestling base is as valuable as anything else. And Madsen has that in spades.
The question now is how quickly the UFC pushes him. In MMA, Madsen is a prospect. But in real life, he’s 35. Not everyone is Yoel Romero, with the ability to still be an athletic freak into his 40s. My guess is Madsen will be a regular on European shows, particularly ones in Scandinavia, for his first few UFC fights. He is obviously very popular in his home country of Denmark. If he does well against moderate competition, he’ll be given a lift. Either way, Madsen (9-0) is someone to keep an eye on in an already ridiculously deep 155-pound division. The mediocre competition notwithstanding, this was as good of a UFC debut for Madsen as anyone could expect.
Jeff Wagenheim on best performances
Honestly, there were so many eye-opening performances at this event that it’s hard to pick just one. So I’ll go with two — one on the main card, one during the prelims, with their common denominator being a quality often underestimated, even overlooked, in MMA: calmness.
The video highlights of Marc Diakiese‘s lightweight prelim will show his array of flashy kicks, but what truly won him his fight was the poise he showed as he was chopping down Lando Vannata with those low kicks and body kicks. In the past, Diakiese has been too wild for his own good. Not this time. He did not rush himself and get out of rhythm, instead leading the dance the whole way in a mature performance that bodes well for the Brit’s future.
And then there was Ovince Saint Preux, relaxed in the eye of the storm — the storm being the onrushing Michał Oleksiejczuk, who fought the first round like he was double-parked outside. But OSP never allowed his light heavyweight opponent to ramp up the pace. He took his time, and took over. And c’mon, how does he manage to secure that same choke he always seems to get, when everyone in the building knows that’s what he’s setting up? It formerly was known as the Von Flue choke, but forevermore will be called the Saint Preux choke, because of the six such submissions in UFC history, OSP has four of them. That’s beyond impressive.