UFC Vegas 66 Main Event Breakdown

Live coverage of the final UFC event of 2022 begins at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm ET Saturday afternoon from the UFC Apex on ESPN+. Main card action follows at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT.

In total, UFC Vegas 66 features (barring any further cancellations between now and fight night) a 13-fight card. After the UFC Vegas 66 co-main event takes place, two fighters look to get back in the win column in the final UFC fight of 2022.

Cannonier and Strickland Do Battle at Middleweight in UFC Vegas 66 Main Event

The UFC closes out the year on Saturday night with a headlining contest at 185 lbs. No. 3 contender Jared Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) looks to end 2022 on a winning note when he takes on No. 7 contender Sean Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC).

As with all UFC headliners, the UFC Vegas 66 main event will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close both the show and the promotion"s activities for the year. These men have a common bond ahead of Saturday"s fight.

Cannonier and Strickland Each Lose on the Same Night and Cancelled Bout

Five months ago, Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland were each booked to appear on UFC 276, with the former battling Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) for the middleweight championship and the latter facing off against Alex Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC). Cannonier went the distance versus Adesanya before dropping a unanimous decision, while Strickland was knocked out from a left hook in the first round.

The two fighters were then originally scheduled to meet one another on the night of Oct. 15 during the UFC Vegas 62 main event. On Aug. 30, however, after that night"s episode of Contender Series, UFC President Dana White revealed that the fight would be postponed from its original date to allow Strickland to recover from a finger infection.

Subsequent to the Oct. 15 postponement, the UFC rebooked this fight to Dec. 17. 62 days after it was supposed to have happened, Cannonier and Strickland will get inside the Octagon in the UFC Vegas 66 main event on Saturday night.

UFC Vegas 66 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds

Heading into Saturday night"s main event, Sean Strickland is the taller man at 6-foot-1, compared to the 5-foot-11 frame of Jared Cannonier. What Cannonier lacks in height, he makes up for in reach, as he owns a 1 1/2-inch advantage (77 1/2 inches to 76 inches) over Strickland.

Both men stand level in leg reach (41 1/2 inches apiece) going into the UFC Vegas 66 main event. This isn"t the only category where they"re close, however.

As it stands currently, the oddsmakers have this fight as a pick-"em. Both Cannonier and Strickland are -110 on the money line heading into this fight. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening over the weekend, please wager responsibly.

Jared Cannonier Unfazed by Strickland"s Potential Insults

Jared Cannonier enters this headliner with a 3-2 record in his last five fights. Prior to losing to Adesanya this past summer, he scored a second-round knockout (elbows) versus Derek Brunson in UFC 271 on Feb. 12.

Cannonier met with the press on Wednesday, where he was asked about the possibility that Sean Strickland might try to give him a tongue-lashing.

“I mean, if he"s doing that, then I"m not doing my job well enough," Cannonier said. “I"m not putting the pressure on him to make him focus more on the fight, as opposed to focusing on talking crap and taking me out of my element. I think he"ll have his hands full, a little full, to be talking crap. If he is talking crap, good on him."

Clearly, one can plainly see that Jared Cannonier is a focused man heading into the UFC Vegas 66 main event. Can he put his focus into action? Tune in and find out.

Sean Strickland Hasn"t Studied Up on Jared Cannonier

In the other corner, Sean Strickland has posted a 4-1 mark in his last five fights. Back in February, he defeated Jack Hermansson in the UFC Vegas 47 main event (split decision.)

Much like Cannonier, Strickland also met with the media Wednesday, and he confessed that he"s studied very little film on his opponent.

“Do I watch MMA? No. Have I seen a couple cool highlights of the guy? Yeah, sure," Strickland began. “I don"t know, man. I fight (expletive deleted) monsters every day. Me and (Magomed) Ankalaev have been (expletive deleted) banging. Me and Francis (Ngannou) will spar. I fight monsters every day."

Strickland has also said that he"s not too sure how to fight against Cannonier in the UFC Vegas 66 main event on Saturday.

“Maybe I"ll take him down," he pondered. “Maybe I"ll kickbox. Maybe I"ll box. I don"t even (censored) know these things. You"re asking questions I haven"t even thought of yet."

The time for preparations is almost up for Sean Strickland. Only time will tell how he"s able to handle Jared Cannonier.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the UFC Vegas 66 main event seems to favor Jared Cannonier, a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, compared to Sean Strickland"s status as a purple belt in BJJ.

Jared Cannonier Can End a Fight Quickly

One aspect of Jared Cannonier"s fight game that"s shown up on video is his penchant to bring a quick end to a fight. His 2019 bout against Hermansson is a textbook example of that.

During the second round of a scheduled five, Hermansson began things by landing a leg kick, but this was his one and only highlight of the period. Cannonier knocked him down with an uppercut, opening up the floodgates with a slew of elbow shots to knock Hermansson out cold in under 30 seconds.

If Jared Cannonier can score as little as one knockdown, this fight will be done before you can get back from the fridge. Be warned, however…

…So Can Sean Strickland

In the other corner, Sean Strickland has also been known to put a stop to the bout in a hurry, as he did versus Brendan Allen. During the second round of a scheduled three, Strickland absorbed some punches from Allen, before Strickland nearly floored him with a two-punch combination.

Sean Strickland was in cruise control from that point on, landing quick jabs at will. About 90 seconds into the round, he landed another lengthy combination to back Allen up against the cage fence. Herb Dean had seen enough.

If Sean Strickland is able to counter-punch against Jared Cannonier, the UFC Vegas 66 main event will be his.

Final Thoughts

The UFC couldn"t have asked for a better way to close out its 2022 than this main event. Before Santa takes a break from his workshop, he"s got one thing left to say:

“Merry Christmas to all. When the bell rings, come out hitting."

Prediction: Jared Cannonier by Unanimous Decision.

main image credits: Getty Images

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