Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson: Brunson has more chances

UFC 271 will take place on February 13 in Houston, USA. One of the main card fights will feature top fighters Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson.

The fight will take place in the middleweight division. Jared Cannonier is 3rd in the official rankings, Derek Brunson is No.4. The bookmakers' favorite is Cannonier.

The seasoned fighter with shoulder cannons has lost only to Robert Whittaker in the last four years, and that was due to injury. But! In his previous fight, Jared wasn't like himself, and in a pretty close fight he beat Kelvin Gastelum, who had only won once in his last six fights.

Nevertheless, Cannonier is not just confident in his win over Brunson, he seriously believes in a title fight and his win particularly.

«I expect a title shot. Who else is there? There's nobody else. There’s no other clear contender at this time. So No. 3 vs. No. 4 (in the UFC rankings)? Yeah. That’s the one. I don't care who wins the Whittaker-Adesanya fight. I’m not hanging on to that Robert loss, and I'm in no hurry to fight Adesanya. A fight is a fight. Whoever it is, I’m going to do the best I can to put you away.»

Jared Cannonier

But he can say whatever he wants, it's MMA, but he still has an incredible punch.

But Brunson has punch, too, and on top of that, he's got steep standing skills and five straight wins (most recent loss happened in 2018 to Israel Adesanya).

In his previous fight, Brunson choked out Darren Till in the third round. He was losing in the standup, looking for success in the take-downs and finding it there. And before the last transfer, he missed the strongest bomb from Till, was shaken, but survived, dragged the fight down and finished his opponent there.

«Jared is a guy who can take advantage of any opportunity. He's very dangerous. But I don't see any aspect where Cannonier is really good. He's going to have to go out there and put up a perfect fight to win. He'll need luck to catch me. Because skill-wise, he's not even close to me.»

Derek Brunson

Both fighters have got most of their victories by KO, with their most recent losses coming to Whittaker and Adesanya, respectively, who will be fighting for the title that same night.

I bet on Brunson in this fight. Simply because he has more advantages. He just needs to be able to avoid a direct hit. It's difficult but doable, Gastelum did it, and Whittaker, of course.

At the same time, if things get tough, he has a number of alternatives, including a ground fight, where he's undoubtedly stronger. Another thing is that Cannonier is very cool defending against take-downs, but he'll have to keep in mind both the danger of passing and the same punches that Brunson himself can shake. Bet365 estimate Derek's win at 2.40.

It is also very likely that the fight will end early. If Cannonier does deliver his punch, and maybe Derek himself will deliver it or choke him in the parterre. 22bet offers odds of exactly 2.00 on the bout to be won by KO/TKO or disqualification.