Whittaker vs Cannonier

Who won Whittaker vs Cannonier?

Robert Whittaker beat Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 254, on Saturday 24th October 2020 at UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Robert Whittaker.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Whittaker vs Cannonier stats

Robert Whittaker stepped into the octagon with a record of 21 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Jared Cannonier made his way to the cage with a record of 13 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Robert Whittaker's 23rd fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2012. Jared Cannonier marked his 19th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2015.

Robert Whittaker's UFC record stood at 17-6-0, while Jared Cannonier's came in at 11-8-0.

The stats suggested Cannonier had a large advantage in power over Whittaker, boasting a 69% knock out percentage over Whittaker's 43%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Whittaker had a slight advantage over Cannonier, with a 24% submission rate over Cannonier's 15%.

Robert Whittaker was the younger man by 7 years, at 34 years old.

Whittaker had a height advantage of 1 inch over Cannonier. Despite this, Cannonier had a 4-inch reach advantage.

Whittaker was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 2 years and 3 months earlier than Cannonier, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 86 to Cannonier's 70.

Whittaker vs Cannonier form

Whittaker had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Darren Till at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 on 5th October 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Yoel Romero at UFC 225 on 9th June 2018 by split decision in their 5 round contest at United Center, Chicago, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Yoel Romero at UFC 213 on 8th July 2017 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FOX 24 on 15th April 2017 by knockout in the 2nd round at Sprint Center, Kansas City.

Cannonier had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Gregory Rodrigues at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues on 15th February 2025 by knockout in the 4th round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Caio Borralho at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho on 24th August 2024 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov on 8th June 2024 by knockout in the 4th round at KFC Yum! Center, Louisville.

Before that, he had beaten Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night – Vettori vs. Cannonier on 17th June 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Sean Strickland at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland on 17th December 2022 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Jared Cannonier had been fighting more than Robert Whittaker.

Going to this contest, Robert Whittaker had last fought 4 years, 8 months and 9 days ago, while Jared Cannonier's last outing had been 1 month and 19 days ago.

Whittaker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 11 months and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 7 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 19 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.8 rounds on average.

Cannonier's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 3 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 23 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Whittaker vs Cannonier?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Whittaker vs Cannonier.