Phoenix fighter Jared Cannonier in action at UFC Fight Night 216
Phoenix area resident Jarod Cannonier is back inside the octagon this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 216 at the UFC Apex training complex just outside of Las Vegas.
Cannonier (15-6) takes on Sean Strickland (25-4) in a battle of middleweight contenders. His bout is the main event of a 14-fight card.
Cannonier's last fight was in July at UFC 276, in which he went the five-round distance with champion Israel Adesanya.
"I learned a lot from that fight. So there's a lot that I've benefited from going the distance with Israel. And, you know, being in a championship fight, so another five rounds in the bank," Cannonier told The Republic on Wednesday. "I'm breaking plateaus all the time. I'm not stagnating or anything in my style, in my physical fitness, in my learning of all of this, of the martial arts, of diet, of recovery, of all those things."
Cannonier said beyond this fight, should he defeat Strickland, he aims for another title fight at some point next year.
Urbina to fight in Manhattan
Phoenix's Sulem Urbina fights on Dec. 21 at Sony Hall in New York City as part of BoxingInsider Promotions' "Holiday Fight Night."
Urbina (13-2-1, two knockouts) takes on Indeya Smith (5-6) in an eight-round super flyweight bout. Urbina, a former Mexican amateur champion, won her first twelve pro bouts (with one no contest) before her first loss. She fought WBA flyweight champion Naoko Fujioka in 2021 and lost a majority decision.
"I’m looking forward to coming to New York as it has been a dream of mine to fight there," Urbina said in a statement announcing the fight. "Indeya Smith is a good fighter. She’s fought great opposition and she’s rugged. I just know I am there to win and this will be my Christmas present."
Glendale lands another main event
ESPN and multiple combat sports sites have reported that another big boxing event is headed to Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena, this one just before Super Bowl 57.
Oscar Valdez (30-1, 23 knockouts) faces Emanuel Navarrete (36-1, 30 knockouts) for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title. That's the main event on Feb. 3 of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card.
The arena website doesn't yet have the fight listed. But the venue is coming off a successful night of big-time boxing earlier this month, when a pair of future Hall-of-Famers in Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez went the distance in the main event before a raucous crowd.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix fighter Jared Cannonier in action at UFC Fight Night 216
