UFC Vegas 66: Jared Canonier vs. Shawn Strickland live results, discussion, play-by-play

Join us here at the Bloody Elbow for live scores, discussion and play-by-play (the main event) as UFC Vegas 66: Cannonier vs.

The main event of this fight night will take place in the middleweight division, as Jared Cannonier looks to bounce back from his loss to then-champion, Israel Adesanya by knocking out Shawn Strickland, who looks to bounce back from a loss of his own to now-champion, Alex Pereira .

This is an entire ESPN+ show, the preliminary fights start at 4pm EST / 1pm PT and the main card starts at 7pm EST / 4pm PT. For territories outside the United States, you can follow all scheduled competitions on UFC Fight Pass.

Main card (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Jared Canonier vs. Shawn Strickland

Round 1

They start the process of feeling outside, and are not motivated to share. Paws Strickland Punch. Canonair handles a few bursts, but nothing clean. Strickland looks forward to meeting. Stricklnad figures out the distance and finds a home for his bun while dodging Cannonier’s attacks. Strickland catches a kick from Cannonier and puts it on his back. Canonnier comes right back up, but Strickland grabs his back against the cage and lands a series of short shots before Canonnier escapes. Chasing the cannon, it delivers a heavy low kick. Strickland dodges a heavy shot. Cannonier is looking for leg kicks and a few on the ground. Good round, but Strickland is the busier fighter. Strickland 10-9

Round 2

Cannonier hits a good first shot to open the round. Strickland fumbles Cannonier with a dropped shot, but doesn’t follow through with the takedown. Strickland finds his jab again. Cannonier is looking for heavy shots and Strickland dodges most of them, some not landing clean. Cannonier is looking for leg kicks again. Strickland struggles to find his jab due to Cannonier’s size. Kanonair slows down and Strickland finds room for a few punches. Strickland lunges at Canonner and lands something heavy. Cannonier unphases and goes straight back to Strickland’s hunt. Cannonier has a good right to finish the round. Close tour. Canon 10-9

Round 3

Strickland returned to play the Matador. Cannonier takes a kick in the leg. Building Strickland’s momentum, and increasing his size. He slows down and lands Cannonier with a body kick. Cannonier throws a lot of big shots that largely miss. The Stricklands don’t throw up too hard, but they do find their home. Canonnier finally gets a big group, but Strickland isn’t staged. Canonair gets another big hit. Strickland begins to put some power into his shots, but Cannonier blocks most of them. Strickland takes a low kick and checks in on one from Cannonier. Strickland lands several punches to the head, then proceeds to parry several punches from Kanonair. Cannonier down left to end the round. Another close round. Strickland 10-9

Round 4

The round begins with finding its range before Cannonier begins to pursue aggressively. Nothing goes down like Strickland dodges. They have a few equal exchanges before Strickland begins to land several consecutive unanswered exchanges. Kanoner seemed to be hurt by one of the punches. Strickland lands a curse on his head near every punch. Kanonair lands a powerful kick, seemingly rousing himself. Kanoner returned to the attack, but his attack was coming in batches now. Strickland reads this and lashes out between bursts. Strickland started to follow behind the jab. Canonnier supports Strickland and forces Strickland out. Canonnier drops a heavy right, but Strickland smiles as he makes his escape again. Strickland 10-9

Round 5

Strickland scratches with the punch. Canonnier lunges, but Strickland dodges again. The cannon looks for straight punches. Strickland counters, Canonniere falters briefly. Cannonier looking for hooks again, but nowhere near to land. Strickland scores spirited shots. Cannonier lands great, but Strickland isn’t phased. A big right counter from Strickland, followed by a vocal set from Cannonier. Cannonier Fountains and Strickland Counters with a large collection. Cannonier hits hard and Strickland’s nose is bleeding. The cannon sniffs with a rotating backhand grip. Strickland supports cannonier with multiple players. Strickland finds his groove. Cannonier gets a big right, followed by a big group. Strickalnd shoots back with a combination of punches and several kicks. Another close round. Strickland 10-9.

I have Strickland 49-46, but I can see Cannonier 48-47.

OFFICIAL DECISION: Jared Canonier defeated Shawn Strickland via split decision (49-46×2, 46-49)

Arman Tsarukyan def. Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Amir al-Bazai was defeated. Alessandro Costa via TKO (punches) at 2:13 from RD3

Alex Caceres def. Julian Erosa via TKO (head kick and punches) at 3:04 from RD1

Drew Dawber Dave. Bobby Green via KO (punch) at 2:45 from RD2

Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Cody Brundage via KO (punches) at 3:16 from RD1

Preliminary card (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Corey McKenna def. Cheyanne Vlismas via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Matt Semmelsberger def. Jake Matthews via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)

Defeated, said Nurmagomedov. Seydukub Kkhromonov by submission (guillotine) at 3:50 on RD2

Rafa Garcia def. Mowers by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Bryan fight by unanimous decision (30-25 x 2, 30-27)

Manil Cape Dave. David Dvorak by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)

Sergey Morozov defeated. Newson trip by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)