‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ Goes to Pound Christian Leroy Duncan During UFC Fight Night
Oklahoma City will be resounding with the cries of UFC fans as they gather for UFC Fight Night. This fight night is an interesting spectacle to behold, not only because it features a former champion seeking to reclaim a title defended and then lost, but because it holds more established fighters from the Men’s Middleweight Division. Two more of these fighters on the title card are Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan. It is a matchup where a fan can see more of a veteran fighter face an up-and-coming fighter for career progression. In essence, a perfect hero’s journey.
The giant the hero is to face comes in the form of Cannonier, who is also known as ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’. He is the embodiment of that, with a record of 18-9-0 and over half of those wins being from knockouts alone. Cannonier is the ground and pounder who is sitting at only 42 years old. It's almost hard to believe because of the tenacity he can bring in any fight he is a part of. In fact, ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’. lands 4.42 strikes per minute, but just like any aggressive fighter, the 42-year-old tends to absorb strikes given by his opponents, further begging the question: is he, in fact, a Middleweight gatekeeper at this point in his career?
The hero who will give these strikes to the giant gorilla is the beloved ‘CLD,’ which draws even more attention to his name as it could mean Duncan stands as no one but himself. The 30-year-old is authentic and ready to show why he deserves a shot at the Men’s Middleweight Division Championship. He could pull it off, too, with a reach of 79 inches, which is two more inches than his opponent, or the fact that Duncan only absorbs 2.59 strikes per minute. However, he will have to be wary of any takedowns if he does get too close to land any strikes on his opponent. After all, he started with the UFC in 2023.
The projections of the statistics do point to ‘CLD’ as the winner of this fight by decision. It is likely this will occur because he absorbs fewer strikes in a fight than his opponent. However, Cannonier could come in with more strikes given to the 30-year-old fighter and have more points by the end of the bout. This would be even more true if ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ could secure a takedown and do the ground and pound he’s done in the past. This won’t happen because Duncan actually has almost the same takedown defense as his 42-year-old opponent and, as such, will see any takedowns coming.
The fans of ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ will have to swallow this match with an anticipated loss. There’s simply too much going in ‘CLD’s favor that prevents a straight path to victory for Cannonier. Even if Cannonier scores the most points in one round, the other rounds will see him absorbing the strikes landed by Duncan. The projections could be wrong, and the only way to see if the hero defeats a giant is to stream this title card fight live through Paramount+ on July 18th at 8:00 p.m. EDT!
