Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan meet in the UFC Fight Night 281 co-feature Saturday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 3-2
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UFC main cards, 2026: 72-39-1
Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan UFC Fight Night 281 preview
Cannonier (18-9 MMA, 11-9 UFC) returns to action for his first fight of 2026 after a unanimous decision loss against Michael Page at UFC 319 last August. In the fight prior, he stopped Gregory Rodrigues in the fourth round. “The Killa Gorilla” is 3-3 since his title shot against Israel Adesanya, and 1-3 over his last four.
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Duncan (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will look to make it five straight. After a decision loss against Rodrigues in July 2024, Duncan has defeated Andrey Pulyaev, Eryk Anders, Marco Tulio and Roman Dolidze in consecutive fights.
Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan UFC Fight Night 281 expert pick, prediction
The co-main event on Paramount+ features a middleweight matchup between Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan.
Although this is clearly being booked as a crossroads fight, I can’t help but feel like this is a dog or pass spot from a betting perspective.
Cannonier, who has come through in instances like these before, possesses all the tools to play spoiler this Saturday. However, it’s also worth noting that Cannonier has been getting hurt more and more in recent stretches of his career.
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Couple that with Cannonier’s sometimes suspect ability to follow a game plan, and I can’t help but side with the dynamic and ever-improving Duncan to take this one.
The official pick is Duncan to score a somewhat surprising knockout in Round 2.
Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan UFC Fight Night 281 odds
The oddsmakers and public favor the younger fighter, listing Duncan -375 and Cannonier +285 via FanDuel.
Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan UFC Fight Night 281 start time, how to watch
As the co-feature, Cannonier and Duncan are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:40 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan prediction, pick for UFC Fight Night 281
