UFC Vegas 102 Main Event Pick
Back to the Apex for the UFC after a successful trip Down Under last weekend. With 13 fights in tow, the world’s leader in MMA brings a middleweight headliner that will determine whether a veteran still has what it takes or if the new guard is taking over. Read more UFC Vegas 102 main event pick.
Jared Cannonier hopes to avoid the first three-fight losing streak of his career.
Gregory Rodrigues plans on adding a former title challenger to his win column.
Will ‘Killa Gorilla’ get the job done? Or will ‘Robocop’ exterminate his foe and move closer to a title shot? Read on to see how this clash of 185ers should go down and who will come out on top.
Jared Cannonier
It must be some sort of record that Cannonier has competed in three different weight classes in the UFC and still finds himself with the promotion after 10 years. He started as a heavyweight, going 1-1. Feeling as though he could be competitive at a lower weight class, Cannonier moved to 205 at the end of 2016 and put together a 2-3 run, ending with a two-fight losing streak to eventual champion, Jan Blachowicz, and eventual title challenger, Dominick Reyes.
That finally prompted his move down to middleweight, where a 5-1 run led him to a title shot in July 2022. It was an underwhelming performance, and he now finds himself 2-2 since that title fight loss.
Coming into the UFC 10 years ago, Cannonier was largely seen as just a power puncher. He could explode into big shots and put opponents away. Mix in the fact that he came from the Alaska regional scene, it was obvious he was a shark in a small pond. However, you can see a gradual improvement in his overall game.
He has become a more technical striker, he has great timing and instincts on when to apply his grappling, and for the most part he makes high fight IQ decisions in the cage. With age, some of the hardware aspects of his game are falling apart. His speed is not what it used to be, and his durability is not as reliable.
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Gregory Rodrigues
Many believed Rodrigues would get into the UFC without problem, especially when he took on Jordan Williams back in 2020 on the Contender Series. Unfortunately, he was knocked out that night and sent back to the regional scene. Within two fights he had won the LFA title and got brought in on a short notice matchup for his debut in mid-2021.
Since then, he is 7-2 and currently riding his longest UFC win streak. It has all led him to this weekend, which is clearly the most important fight of his career as it is also his first main event for the promotion.
Rodrigues came into the UFC mostly as a BJJ specialist who would look to ground his opponents and give them hell from there. However, since being with the Kill Cliff FC team, it’s obvious they have rounded out his striking game to the point that he can use that as a primary game plan.
Throwing with absolute heat and power, Rodrigues forces his opponents to respect him, and in turn that allows him to dictate the pace and where the fight will take place. We saw a great all-around performance from him in July when he put Christian Leroy Duncan through the ringer, winning it on the scorecards.
The Pick
Considering the trajectory of both guys, it makes sense why Rodrigues finds himself as a favorite. The last thing to leave a fighter is usually their power, so I wouldn’t completely count out Cannonier’s chances here, but I still must lean with the favorite. I believe this is the kind of fight that Rodrigues can get done sooner than later.
We can either take him to win inside the distance at -120 or take the exact same line and give ourselves 12.5 minutes to work with the off chance that Cannonier is the one that ends up landing the seminal blow. I don’t hate anyone looking to parlay Rodrigues, but nothing worse than -250. Regardless, we’ll go with violence here and take the widely available total. If you can get 3.5, that would be even better.
