Jared Cannonier destroyedDerek Brunson with elbow strikes Saturday atUFC 271.- The American had to come from behind to find the win, scoring his knockout in the second round.
American fighter Jared Cannonier made a violent statement Saturday at the UFC 271 event inside the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, when he got up from the canvas to brutally finish Derek Brunson with an elbow-backfist combo.
The second-round knockout propels Cannonier into title-shot contention, and he knows he deserves it, as he made his middleweight championship demands to UFC boss Dana White after his statement win.
But Cannonier had to work for the result, and came-from-behind as he lost the opening round on Insider's card, on account of Brunson's striking activity and penchant for takedowns.
Round two began as the first left off, with Brunson again trying to take the fight to the mat. But Cannonier was patient, waiting for his opportunity to strike and to strike hard.
That moment came little more than 30 seconds from the end of the second, as he dazed Brunson with a heavy right hand.
With a nasty elbow strike and an awesome back-fist, Cannonier had Brunson in even more trouble.
On the floor, it was only a matter of time before the referee intervened as another Cannonier elbow smashed into Brunson's face — pow.
And just like that, Brunson's corner threw in the towel but the ref stopped the bout anyway.
Brunson was out cold, and Cannonier was celebrating a momentous win.
Watch the aftermath right here:
—ESPNMMA (@espnmma) February 13, 2022
With victory, 37-year-old Cannonier advanced his pro MMA record to 15 wins (10 knockouts, two submissions, and three decisions) against five losses.
The result means he's now secured back-to-back wins over Kelvin Gastelum and now Brunson, since suffering a blip in a decision loss to Robert Whittaker.
It is now likely he will fight for the title — against Israel Adesanya, or Whittaker — in his next match.