UFC 276 graces us this weekend with a night of violence, as hot prospects clash, and champions defend their reigns. Technical mastermind Israel ‘Stylebender’ Adesanya defends his Middleweight strap against the heavy handed, and heavily underestimated Jared ‘The Killa Gorilla’ Cannonier. On the co main we see Featherweight king Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski looking to defend his belt for a third time against his main fighting adversary, Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway.
The card also features a curious matchup between the controversial Sean ‘Tarzan’ Strickland, and Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira. The latter of which is the last man to knock out reigning champion Israel Adesanya. A victory for Adesanya’s old rival could cast doubt over the middleweight GOAT’s reign.
When is UFC 276 on in the UK?
UFC 276 starts at 11pm Saturday 2nd July, and carries on into early Sunday morning.
- Main Card begins at 3am UK time
- The main prelims begin at 1AM UK time
- The early prelims begin at 11pm UK time
UFC 276 Predictions & Betting Suggestions
| Jessica-Rose Clark vs Julija Stoliarenko | Jessica-Rose Clark is a force of nature when she’s at her best. In recent performances, she has relied heavily on her wrestling to control the outcome of the fight. In her last outing she was defeated via armbar because she didn’t’ respect the skills of her opponent and tried that grappling heavy approach. With this in mind, Julija Stoliarenko is one of the more qualified WMMA fighters to hand Clark another defeat, with 89% of her victories coming by way of armbar, I predict a Stoliarenko submission finish. |
| Brad Tavares vs Dricus Du Plessis | Brad Tavares is an astounding MMA fundamentalist and gatekeeper to the upper echelons of the middleweight division. He’s the toughest test Dricus Du Plessis will have faced to date. I pick Tavares to control Du Plessis to a decision. Tavares is an underdog in this fight, but I heavily suggest watching him derail up and coming prospects like he has in his last few fights. |
| Maycee Barber vs Jessica Eye | This should be a fun fight, with Jessica Eye being incredibly tough. Maycee Barber however has the power of resumé and is the more skilled striker of the two, so I pick Barber by decision. |
| Uriah Hall vs Andre Muniz | Our featured early prelim. The UFC feeds Uriah Hall to another hot prospect in Andre Muniz. Despite his incredible talent, Hall is on a sharp decline, and Muniz has proven his mettle in the UFC with some fantastic submission victories. Not counting Hall out, but I think Muniz has this one in the bag. |
| Donald Cerrone vs Jim Miller | It’s uncanny how the career trajectory of these two fighters is on opposite ends of the spectrum. Jim Miller is knocking out young prospects and Donald Cerrone is getting knocked out by opponents he’d formerly toy with. I have Jim Miller by finish. |
| Ian Garry vs Gabriel Green | I’m not high on Ian Garry, he’s been fed favourable opposition and still seems to get hit a lot, his hubris will cost him sooner or later. Gabriel Green is a submission ace who has only lost to some very legit opposition. Possibly one of my biggest underdog picks of the night, I choose Green by submission. |
| Robbie Lawler vs Bryan Barbarena | This fight spells violence. Robbie Lawler looked dangerous against an over the hill Nick Diaz. Bryan Barbarena has appeared to be very sloppy in his last few outings, so I have Lawler by exhausting UD. |
| Brad Riddell vs Jalin Turner | Brad Riddell is always in entertaining fights. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to get tagged a lot by his opponents. Jalin Turner has the power to shut Riddell’s lights off if he lands clean. Riddell has to be perfect for the full 15, Turner only needs the one shot. |
| Pedro Munoz vs Sean O’Malley | It’s clear a lot of people are overlooking Pedro Munoz in this matchup. Sean O’Malley has shown extreme susceptibility to calf kicks, which is something Munoz does exceptionally well. O’Malley might have crisp striking but Munoz also has stupendous durability, taking heavy hitters like José Aldo to decisions. If O’Malley sparks Munoz, jump on that hype train. Until then, I believe Munoz ends the hype. |
| Sean Strickland vs Alex Pereira | Sean Strickland is the betting underdog in this fight and I don’t know why. The 25-3 MMA veteran mixes his grappling with an effective jab to grind out ugly decisions. Strickland won’t stand with Alex Pereira because he’ll get sparked, instead he’ll drag him to the mat and either make him tap, or cruise to a sloppy decision. (It’s likely the latter) |
| Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway 3 | Everyone’s forgetting how Holloway’s legs were being lit up by Yair Rodriguez not long ago. Volkanovski has never looked more invincible than he is right now. An effective leg kicking game carved Volk’s route to victory against The Korean Zombie, and I think it will play out the same with Holloway. I think Volk whittles down Max over the full 25 and secures a finish in the later rounds. |
| Israel Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier | All credit is due to Cannonier for earning this title shot, but I think he has a puncher’s chance of winning the title. Adesanya is an elite kickboxer, who is considerably taller, and has an extremely underrated ground game. Cannonier simply doesn’t offer much, and I see the typical Adesanya fight of long range attacks and maybe a patient finish. |
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Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist. He currently works for MMA Knockout on Sports Illustrated. His past bylines include Heavy on UFC, Sportskeeda, and MMA UK.
Contact Mathew via Twitter or through [email protected]
Contact Mathew via Twitter or through [email protected]
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