UFC 254 Full Fight Video: Watch Jared Cannonier Knock Out Jack Hermansson

Jared Cannonier’s UFC record was below .500 when he was matched up against David Branch in 2018. He knocked out Branch in the second round and followed that with a first-round stoppage of former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. That win earned him the No. 9 ranking in the 185-pound division and a September 2019 bout against the No. 5 ranked Jack Hermansson.

Hermansson was one of the hottest middleweight fighters at the time he faced Cannonier. He was on a four-fight winning streak and was coming off a decision win over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. There was talk that Hermansson could be close to a title shot.

When the bout, which headlined the card, began, Hermansson was a -280 favorite over Cannonier, who checked in as the +230 underdog.

Hermansson was aggressive with kicks and then attempted a takedown in the first 30 seconds of the bout. Hermansson’s second takedown attempt was successful. From there, he did his best to keep Cannonier on the mat, but Cannonier’s strength allowed him to get to his feet where he was able to use his striking skills against Hermansson.

Cannonier tagged Hermansson with an uppercut in the first 15 seconds of the second stanza and then proceeded to throw heavy ground-and-pound to wrap things up.

On Saturday, Cannonier could score himself a title shot with a win over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. After his recent win over Paulo Costa, current titleholder Israel Adesanya said that if Cannonier scores an impressive win over Whittaker that he will be next in line.

UFC 254 takes place on Saturday from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The event takes place much earlier than a normal UFC pay-per-view event. The ESPN+ streaming main card begins at 2:00 p.m ET. Following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at noon ET and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Before Cannonier faces Whittaker, watch his knockout win over Hermansson.