UFC Vegas 66: Complete results of Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland, play by play

Join us here on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion and play-by-play (main event) as UFC Vegas 66: Cannonier vs. Strickland takes place from the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, NV.

The main event of this Fight Night will take place in the middleweight division, with Jared Cannonier looking to bounce back from his loss to then champion Israel Adesanya by knocking out Sean Strickland, looking to bounce back from a loss of his own to him now. champion, Alex Pereira.

This is an ESPN+ show in its entirety, with the undercards starting at 4pm ET/1pm PT and the main card starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT. For areas outside of the United States, you can view all scheduled contests on UFC Fight Pass.

Main card (7 pm ET, ESPN+)

Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland

round 1

They start with a trial and error process, with no enthusiasm to participate. Strickland kicks out with his jab. Cannonier attacks with a couple of bursts, but nothing lands clean. Strickland is looking to counter. Stricklnad is gauging the distance and finding a home for his jab as he dodges Cannonier’s attacks. Strickland catches a kick from Cannonier and puts him on his back. Cannonier gets back up, but Strickland braces himself against the cage and hits a series of short shots before Cannonier escapes. Cannonier stalks, connects a strong low kick. Strickland dodges a heavy shot. Cannonier looks for leg kicks and a few lands. Good round, but Strickland is the more active fighter. Strickland 10-9

round 2

Cannonier lands the first good shot to open the round. Strickland trips Cannonier with a caught kick, but he doesn’t go after the takedown. Strickland is finding his jab again. Cannonier goes for heavy punches and Strickland dodges most of them, the others don’t land clean. Cannonier looking for leg kicks again. Strickland struggles to find the jab due to Cannonier’s bulk. Cannonier slows down and Strickland finds a home for some punches. Strickland attacks Cannonier and lands something heavy. Cannonier is out of phase and comes right back to stalk Strickland. Cannonier lands a nice right hand to end the round. Close round. Gunboat 10-9

round 3

Strickland plays the matador again. Cannonier lands a leg kick. Strickland gains momentum, increasing the volume of him. He slows down and Cannonier lands a kick to the body. Cannonier throws a lot of big shots that are largely missing. Strickland doesn’t throw with much power, but they find his house. Cannonier finally pulls off a great combo, but Strickland doesn’t hold back. Cannonier lands another big right. Strickland starts to put some power into his shots, but Cannonier blocks most of them. Strickland lands a low kick and controls one from Cannonier. Strickland lands several blows to the head, then proceeds to dodge several punches from Cannonier. Cannonier lands to the left to end the round. Another close round. Strickland 10-9

round 4

The round begins with them finding their range before Cannonier begins to aggressively pursue them. Nothing lands as Strickland dodges. They have a few even exchanges before Strickland starts making several back-to-back exchanges with no response. Cannonier appears to be injured from one of the blows. Strickland is landing on the head with almost every punch. Cannonier lands a strong kick, appearing to wake up. Cannonier is back on offense, but his offense is only coming in bursts now. Strickland reads this and attacks with the jab between flurries. Strickland starts to follow after his jab. Cannonier pushes Strickland back and forces Strickland to circle out. Cannonier lands hard to the right, but Strickland smiles as he dodges again. Strickland 10-9

round 5

Strickland kicking with the jab. Cannonier rushes in, but Strickland dodges again. Cannonier looking for direct hits. Strickland responds, briefly tripping Cannonier. Cannonier goes for hooks again, but doesn’t come close to landing. Strickland connects splash shots. Cannonier lands a big one, but Strickland isn’t phasing. Great counter right by Strickland, followed by a loud combo by Cannonier. Cannonier sniffs and Strickland responds with a great combo. Cannonier lands a hard shot and Strickland’s nose is bleeding. Cannonier smacks into a twisting fist. Strickland backs up Cannonier with several one-twos. Strickland is finding his rhythm. Cannonier lands a big right hand, he follows it up with a big combo. Strickalnd responds with a combo and several kicks. Another close round. Strickland 10-9.

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

Official Decision: Jared Cannonier defeated Sean Strickland via split decision (49-46 x2, 46-49)

Arman Tsarukyan def. Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Amir Albazi def. Alessandro Costa via TKO (blows) at 2:13 of RD3

Alex Caceres def. Julián Erosa via TKO (kick to the head and punches) at 3:04 of RD1

Drew Dober def. Bobby Green via KO (punch) at 2:45 of RD2

Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Cody Brundage via KO (blows) at 3:16 of RD1

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

Cory McKenna def. Cheyanne Vlismas by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Matt Semelsberger def. Jake Matthews by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

Said Nurmagomedov def. Saidyokub Kakhramonov via submission (guillotine) at 3:50 of RD2

Rafael Garcia def. Maheshate by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Bryan Battle by unanimous decision (30-25 x2, 30-27)

Manel Cabo right David Dvorak by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Sergey Morozov def. Journey Newson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)