Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 271, we will see a potential title elimination bout in the middleweight division. Top contenders will battle it out as “The Killa Gorilla” Jared Cannonier (14-5) takes on Derek Brunson (23-7).
Brunson made headlines earlier this week when he announced that win, lose, or draw, UFC 271 will be one of his final two fights. With that, there is a ton of pressure on him to get the job done. He comes into tomorrow night riding a five-fight winning streak.
He’s become a bit of a gate-keeper at 185, but the UFC has finally given him a good opponent that can vault him into title contention. However, in order to get into title contention, he’s going to have to defeat the very tough Jared Cannonier.
Since moving down to the middleweight division, Jared Cannonier has been sensational. He’s 4-1 with the lone loss coming to Robert Whittaker at UFC 254. In his last fight, he won a decision over Kelvin Gastelum. If he picks up the win tomorrow night, he’s sitting in a good spot to get his UFC title shot that he’s been aiming for.
UFC 271 Prediction
I’m the first to admit that there’s not been one fighter I’ve been more wrong about than Derek Brunson. I picked him to lose to Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till. Derek Brunson went out and won all three of those fights.
I’m not trying to disrespect Brunson, it’s just that he doesn’t do anything that really wows you. That said, ahead of UFC 271, he’s shown everyone just how effective he is. If he’s able to get ahold and control Cannonier, it’s going to be a long night for The Killa Gorilla.
The key to this fight is going to be the range. If Cannonier keeps this fight at range, he can easily put Brunson to sleep. However, if he can’t keep Brunson off of him, Brunson is going to grind his way to a decision victory.
Part of me wants to pick Brunson just because he’s proved me wrong so many times. However, I just can’t do it. Call me crazy, but I’m going to pick against him again. I think he will have moments, but I also think he gets caught with a big shot in the second round and Jared Cannonier will win at UFC 271.
Prediction: Jared Cannonier by TKO – Round 2