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“The Killa Gorilla” set a middleweight record for significant strikes landed en route to an impressive unanimous decision triumph over Marvin Vettori in the UFC on ESPN 47 headliner on Saturday night. Cannonier has won four of his last five bouts within the Las Vegas-based promotion, and while the masses may not yet be clamoring for a rematch with Israel Adesanya, the MMA Lab’s prospects for receiving another 185-pound title shot are looking much brighter than they once were on the heels of his latest effort.
Elsewhere, Sergio Pettis returned from an 18-month absence to restore order in Bellator’s bantamweight division, as he thwarted Patricio Freire’s dreams of three-division dominance with a clear-cut five-round verdict in the Bellator 297 co-main event on Friday night in Chicago. “The Phenom” has won his last six fights and climbs to No. 9 in the latest 135-poll, one spot below the man he is slated to face next: interim Bellator champ Patrick Mix.
Meanwhile, Vadim Nemkov continued his reign atop the light heavyweight division with a lopsided five-round verdict against former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero in the Bellator 297 headliner. Sherdog’s No. 1 ranked 205-pound talent indicated that a move to heavyweight could be in his future if a suitable challenge doesn’t emerge in his current weight class. Also at light heavyweight, sixth-ranked Corey Anderson held serve with a predictably hard-fought split-decision win over Phil Davis on the Bellator 297 main card, knocking “Mr. Wonderful” down one spot to No. 12.
At PFL 5 on Friday night, Larissa Pacheco got back to her headhunting ways with a first-round blitz of Amber Leibrock at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Two bouts in to her bid to become a two-weight class champion in PFL, Pacheco already looks like a force to be reckoned with at 145 pounds as she climbs to No. 5 in the latest divisional rankings. Featherweight counterparts Aspen Ladd and Julia Budd stay put following No. 12 and No. 13 following their victories on the PFL 5 card.
Finally, Arman Tsarukyan accepted a high-risk, low-reward fight against Joaquim Silva in the UFC on ESPN 47 co-headliner and delivered with a violent third-round technical knockout victory. The 10th-ranked lightweight has won seven of his last eight UFC appearances and is more than deserving of a high-profile matchup in his next outing.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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