Jared Cannonier got back on the winning track with a five-round unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Gastelum managed to out-land Cannonier 89-81 in significant strikes over the 25-minute bout, however all three judges scored the bout 48–47, three rounds to two, in favour of Cannonier.
Cannonier (14-5) was ranked as the No. 3 contender at 185 pounds and coming off a decision loss to former champion Robert Whittaker last October.
Gastelum (16-8, one no-contest) is a former interim title challenger and a past winner of The Ultimate Fighter but has now lost five of his past six fights.
The co-main event saw 2016 Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic silver medallist Mark Madsen improve to 11-0 in mixed martial arts and 3-0 in the UFC with a split decision win over veteran lightweight and fan favourite Clay Guida.
The preliminary card featured several stoppages, none more impressive than Ignacio Bahamondes’ spinning wheel kick knockout in the waning seconds of his lightweight contest against Roosevelt Roberts.
MAIN CARD
— Jared Cannonier def. Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision
— Mark Madsen def. Clay Guida by split decision
— Parker Porter def. Chase Sherman by unanimous decision
— Saidyokub Kakhramonov def. Trevin Jones by technical submission (guillotine choke)
— Vinc Pichel def. Austin Hubbard by unanimous decision
— Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Royval by submission (rear-naked choke)
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Austin Lingo def. Luis Saldaña by unanimous decision
— Brian Kelleher def. Domingo Pilarte by unanimous decision
— Josiane Nunes def. Bea Malecki by knockout
— William Knight def. Fabio Cherant by knockout
— Ignacio Bahamondes def. Roosevelt Roberts by knockout
— Ramiz Brahimaj def. Sasha Palatnikov by technical submission (rear-naked choke)
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