Cannonier vs Strickland Prediction: UFC Fight Night 216 Betting Odds and Picks

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with its last event of the year – UFC Fight Night 216, with Jared Cannonier facing Sean Strickland in a massive main event. Overall, the whole card is full of past contenders for titles as well as rising stars of the organization. It will not be a massive PPV event but it is more than worthy of our attention. Here are our predictions for the main and co-main events.

UFC Fight Night 2016: Jared Cannonier vs Sean Strickland Predictions

Jared Cannonier Preview

Jared is a 38-year-old American fighter. He started his professional career in 2011. Before moving to the UFC, Cannonier played in second-rate US promotions, where he amassed a professional record of 7-0 against mediocre opposition.

Jared's debut took place in January 2015 in a duel against Shawn Jordan, whom he lost to by knockout in the 1st round. Cannonier closed this defeat in 2016, knocking out Cyril Asker in the 1st round and defeating Jon Kutelabu by unanimous decision.

But Jared failed to seriously rise to the top of the light heavyweight division. In the following 4 fights, he won only 1 time:

• Glover Teixeira, lost by unanimous decision;
• Nick Roehrik, KO in the 3rd round;
• Jan Blachowicz, lost by unanimous decision;
• Dominick Reyes, lost by 1st round knockout.

After losing to Reyes in 2018, Jared decided to change weight class and moved to the middle division. He made his debut at the new weight in November 2018 against David Branch, whom he defeated by knockout in the 2nd round. After that, Jared broke the leg of 43-year-old Anderson Silva in May 2019, and knocked out Jack Hermansson in the 2nd round in September of the same year.

Jared's rise was stopped by Robert Whittaker. Their duel took place in October 2020. The Australian declassed Cannonier and won by unanimous decision. Jared then fought and beat Kelvin Gastelum and then Derek Brunson before failing for the title against Adesanya in his last fight in July.

Jared prefers to fight on the stand. This is a physically powerful fighter who relies on one accurate hit. He diligently aims at the opponent's jaw, after which he sends him to a one-punch knockout.

Besides the cannon strike, Cannonier has nothing. Aiming at the opponent's chin, he becomes slow and passive, which is why he is easily outgunned by a technical striker. In the duel against Robert Whittaker, Jared did not show anything, he just walked around the octagon. Cannonier even approached the former champion without throwing punches. Most likely, he adheres to this tactic due to the fact that he is afraid to sag in cardio with more active work.

On the ground, Jared lets himself be controlled by good wrestlers. He doesn't get to his feet and just waits for the round to end.

Sean Strickland Preview

Sean is a 31-year-old American fighter. He joined the UFC in 2014, in the first 4 years he fought 10 fights: 7 wins, and 3 losses. In 2018, Strickland had a motorcycle accident and had to recover for 2 years.

Sean returned to the octagon in October 2020 against Jack Marshman, whom he defeated by a unanimous decision. Strickland secured this success with 3 more victories before losing to the current champion Alex Pereira:

• Brendan Allen – won by 1st-round knockout
• Krzysztof Zhotko – victory by unanimous decision;
• Uriah Hall – win by unanimous decision;
• Jack Hermanson – won by split decision.
• Alex Pereira – lost by 1st round knockout

Strickland is a basic kickboxer. He works great as the first number, constantly moving forward and throwing out simple but effective combinations. According to statistics, Sean interrupts the opponent more than 2 times the number of accented punches. This speaks of his high performance.

I note Strickland's good defense against takedowns. He stops attempts of transfers from rivals in time, and once on the ground, he quickly rises to his feet.

But Sean's main drawback is that he is too pragmatic. Judges may give the win to a more aggressive opponent if they consider that Strickland's punches do not provide enough penetrating, stopping, and cumulative effect.

Cannonier vs Strickland Prediction

Sean Strickland is used to working methodically, safely, and practically. In the standing position, he will try to poke the American with a jab. But will these tactics still work for Strickland as before? I wouldn't be surprised if Sean resorts to wrestling and clinching a lot. He hones those skills.

Jared is a strong and powerful fighter. But he has nothing but a strong punch. He won't be able to surprise his opponent and we do not expect to see a knockout. We expect a long fight with at least three or four rounds here.

UFC Fight Night 2016 Co-Main Event: Arman Tsarukyan vs Damir Ismagulov Quick Tip

This is an important fight for both athletes, so I expect them to show a pragmatic fight with a minimum of escalation. In past fights, Arman and Damir have shown more than once that they are ready to work only for points, controlling opponents and scoring points. Damir, most likely, will try to go to the ground or into the clinch from the very start. He often resorted to passive control and pinning. All five of his UFC fights to date ended with a decision (all in his favor).