From an outsider’s perspective, leg kicks might have seemed like a major storyline of Jack Hermansson ’s loss at UFC on ESPN+ 18. The Norwegian, however, doesn’t think so. A favorite in the eyes of the bookmakers and the crowd in attendance in Copenhagen, Hermansson (20-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC ) was finished via strikes by Jared Cannonier (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC ) in 27 seconds into the second round of their headliner at Royal Arena. After an initial rush of energy from Hermansson to start the bout, Cannonier shifted the momentum with a series of leg kicks. A short uppercut marked the beginning of the end for Hermansson, as Cannonier pounced on and finished his foe. “I was going for the takedown pretty early in the fight, like ‘OK, this is where I want to fight.’ I locked myself a little bit in that mode,” Hermansson said during the ESPN+ post-show.
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