UFC Vegas 34: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum Recap

UFC Vegas 34: Cannonier vs. Gastelum turned out to be a fun card with some wild finishes, especially on the Preliminary Card. There were two finishes that stood out to me the most, so read below to get a recap of Roosevelt Roberts vs. Ignacio Bahamondes and William Knight vs. Fabio Cherant.

UFC Lightweight Bout: Roosevelt Roberts vs. Ignacio Bahamondes – Prelim Card

If you want to talk about impressive, check out this buzzer beater knockout by Ignacio Bahamondes against Roosevelt Roberts. 

As an underdog, Bahamondes was definitely in control this entire fight. He had it all; heavy leg kicks, head and body shots, spinning attacks. He overall had constant pressure and had Roberts mainly playing defense. 

Roberts mainly aimed for Bahamondes’ head and was able to leave decent damage, but it just was not enough. He had a total of 47 head-shots, but only 2 body and 6 leg shots (55 total).  Bahamondes, on the other hand, landed 41 head, 31 body, and 33 leg strikes (105 total). 

Every time Roberts shot for a takedown, Bahamondes was able to stuff it and counter efficiently. However, when it got to the third round, you could see Roberts really wanted the fight on the ground. On the feet, he was very behind in strikes. He got in many clean shots, but again, it just was not enough. 

There were many times throughout the fight where Bahamondes would either drop or daze Roberts, and with 5 seconds left in the third round, Bahamondes landed a wicked spinning heel kick to put lights out for Roberts. 

Roosevelt needed a win this past Saturday, but his chin was really tested. He was coming off of a loss to Jim Miller by submission in 2020 and also a loss to Kevin Croom in 2020, however his bout with Croom was overturned due to a failed drug test. He is now 0-1, 1NC in his last 3 bouts, and received his first knockout loss in his professional career. 

As for Ignacio Bahamondes, he was also coming off of a loss from his UFC debut against John Makdessi by split decision in April 2021. So this was the most beautiful redemption. I’m excited to see what Bahamondes has to bring into the future of the UFC. The UFC Odds for this matchup were: Roosevelt Roberts -150 and Ignacio Bahamondes +125. 

UFC Light Heavyweight Bout: William Knight vs. Fabio Cherant – Prelim Card

As the second quickest finish on this card, William Knight proved once again lived up to his nickname “Knightmare” because he was a living nightmare for Fabio Cherant. The UFC Odds for this matchup were: William Knight -175 and Fabio Cherant +145.

As usual, Knight started off aggressive and landed a brutal calf kick on Cherant. He really aimed for those calves; it was a great tactic because Cherant was not expecting the nasty left hook that led to ‘Game Over’. 

The knockout went as follows: Knight landed leg kick after leg kick, followed by a left punch. Cherant landed a nice punch to the body, followed by a body kick counter from Knight. Cherant pressed forward while Knight countered with his left hook weapon. The fight ended at 3 minutes and 58 seconds in the first round. 

This win was great for Knight since he is now 2-1 in the UFC; his sole loss was against Da Un Jung by unanimous decision back in April 2021. The Light Heavyweight division may have a new rising threat in this Knightmare. Also, check out that post knockout backflip!

Closing Remarks and What’s Next? 

Like always, I love to give the dog-winners the extra spotlight they deserve: Ignacio Bahamondes (+125), Josiane Nunes (+135), Austin Lingo (+105), Saidyokub Kakhramonov (+125), and Parker Porter (+160).

Up next in the UFC, we have UFC Vegas 35: Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze on Saturday, August 28th at the UFC Apex. This is another card that may not look too eventful, but there are a lot of underrated matchups in my opinion. We’ll see inside the octagon: JJ Aldrich vs. Vanessa Demopoulos, Dustin Jacoby vs. Darrent Stewart, Sam Alvey vs. Wellington Turman, Kevin Lee vs. Daniel Rodriguez, and more!

To help you make your best bets for this upcoming fight night, be sure to tune in to our weekly UFC Picks and Predictions show on SBR’s YouTube page. 

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