Who were the winners and losers at UFC 276?

There weren’t any surprises on the night, but there definitely was a lot of action as Israel Adesanya showed why he’s a UFC icon and Alexander Volkanovski put on a show.

Paul RudderEnglish_ASUpdate: Jul 3rd, 2022 08:57 EDT

Stephen R. SylvanieUSA TODAY Sports

It was a night that saw the ‘Style Bender’ extend his unbeaten streak while the ever dangerous Alexander Volkanovski left no doubt as to just how good he is, but how did it all go down and who were the winners and losers? Let’s find out!

UFC 276 was worth the hype

For the 14th time this year the UFC returned to Las Vegas. The T-Mobile Arena was the venue for the first time since March and it didn’t disappoint with a 12-bout show that included five pay-per-view fights. The headliners were of course the two championship bouts which saw middleweight legend Israel ‘Style Bender’ Adesanya in his fifth title defense against No. 2 contender Jared Cannonier and featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski taking on the man he defeated to become champion, Max Holloway.

This was Adesanya’s sixth time headlining a UFC pay-per-view extravaganza since debuting back in 2018 and Volkanovski was making his seventh appearance on a pay-per-view card since he arrived on the fight scene in 2016. With that said, let’s get started with a look at just who the winners and losers were and how all the action went down!

Israel Adesanya is still unbeaten

Having successfully defended his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier, the championship reign of Israel Adesanya continues. The Style Bender won by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 276 and though some may have been surprised by the slower rhythm of the fight, it was without doubt another excellent performance from Adesanya.

Just finished watching UFC 276Israel Adesanya vs CannonierGreat fight between the both of them after 5 Rounds The style bender retains his title and Drake wins his $1Million dollar bet 🥵 pic.twitter.com/nF7UveDgRY

— IAm_Guidottii🗺 (@RealGuidottii) July 3, 2022

With a record of 23–1 gave a glimpse of the confidence he’s riding from the moment he entered the arena. Wearing the Undertaker’s signature hat, holding the urn and playing his theme, the man of the moment couldn’t have planned his octagon entrance better given that WWE’s Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and Pat McAfee were all sitting cageside. Indeed, they would have got a good look at the champion’s technique as he proceeded to put on a show. Where the fight itself is concerned, one could say that all rounds were competitive, but ultimately it was clear that Adesanya with his outside kicks and top tier takedown defense was always going to emerge victorious. For his part Cannonier (15-6) put in a solid effort, but Adesanya always seemed to be a step ahead.

Alexander Volkanovski silences the doubters

In the third fight of their trilogy – the last two were close – the Australian dominated Max Holloway completely. Volkanovski who boasts a recorded of 24-1 was dominant throughout against Holloway who now sits on a record of 23-6. Indeed, it was by unanimous decision that the featherweight champion won the fight. Volkanovski’s right hand was a factor in the opening round. Then there was his speed which was clearly a problem for Holloway for the majority of the first.

Alexander Volkanovski becomes the 4th fighter in UFC history to win his first 12 UFC fights (Also: Anderson Silva, Kamaru Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov).He becomes the 1st fighter in UFC history to beat the same opponent 3 times in title fights. pic.twitter.com/UYxxCCesVp

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 3, 2022

The second round provided what can be considered the key moment of the fight when Volkanovski opened up a nasty cut above Holloway’s left eye with yet another brutal right hand. Yet it should be said that it wasn’t just Volkanovski’s offense that was on show. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has some of the best defense in the sport and it was on show for all to see as Holloway constantly missed. In the end Volkanovski was always a step ahead and though Holloway tried a change of approach in the 5th, he was ultimately left with his face badly beaten and his right eye damaged.

It’s the big time now for Bryan Barberena

BAM BAM GETS IT DONE!!!![ @Bryan_Barberena | #UFC276 | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/f2ejdXxGz3 ] pic.twitter.com/4XTKFCLziZ

— UFC (@ufc) July 3, 2022