Ranking International Fight Week main events: Where does Adesanya-Cannonier fall?

International Fight Week typically marks a major pay-per-view event for the UFC, but some offerings are stronger than others.

Below, we rank the last seven main events - taking into account name value, how intriguing each matchup was on paper, and stakes - to see how Saturday's UFC 276 headliner between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier stacks up against the rest.

Note: The rankings don't include Kamaru Usman-Jorge Masvidal 1 or Dustin Poirier-Conor McGregor 3, as International Fight Week didn't officially happen in July 2020 or July 2021.

7. Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker 1

Event: UFC 213
Date: July 8, 2017
Result: Whittaker def. Romero via unanimous decision to win interim middleweight title

To be fair to the promotion, the UFC 213 main event was supposed to be a rematch between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko for the women's bantamweight title before a last-minute cancellation elevated Whittaker and Romero to that position. The middleweight contenders delivered an entertaining fight, but the on-paper matchup wasn't up to International Fight Week standards.

6. Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes

Event: UFC 200
Date: July 9, 2016
Result: Nunes def. Tate via submission to win women's bantamweight title

UFC 200 also suffered from a last-minute overhaul, with Jon Jones infamously dropping out of his rematch with Daniel Cormier due to a positive drug test. The landmark event would mark the beginning of Nunes' title reign, which, in hindsight, is historic. But at the time, Tate-Nunes wasn't what fans had in mind for the main event of what was being dubbed the biggest card in UFC history.

5. Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega

Event: UFC 266
Date: Sept. 25, 2021
Result: Volkanovski def. Ortega via unanimous decision to retain featherweight title

Fans view Volkanovski-Ortega much more favorably now compared to before the fight happened. That's because the 145-pound title fight was one of the most thrilling clashes of 2021, with Volkanovski surviving multiple submission attempts and then dominating Ortega down the stretch. But going in, not many people were anticipating the fight a whole lot. It was a fine fight, but there were better headliners in 2021 alone.

4. Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier

Event: UFC 276
Date: July 2, 2022
Result: TBD, for Adesanya's middleweight title

Adesanya-Cannonier isn't quite the marquee headliner that fans have grown accustomed to for International Fight Week, but it's getting close. There are a number of reasons to get excited about it. Adesanya is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, and more often than not, the dominant champion is a fun watch. He faces a somewhat unique challenge, as Cannonier is arguably the hardest hitter Adesanya has gone up against since Paulo Costa in 2020.

3. Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos

Event: UFC 239
Date: July 6, 2019
Result: Jones def. Santos via split decision to retain light heavyweight title

The name value Jones carries as one of the greatest fighters of all time is what pushes his title defense against Santos to the No. 3 position on this list. It wasn't a particularly anticipated fight compared to Jones' battles with Cormier or his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson since fans expected him to cruise to a victory (in the end, Santos surprisingly took Jones to a split decision). But a Jones fight will always feel big.

2. Chad Mendes vs. Conor McGregor

Event: UFC 189
Date: July 11, 2015
Result: McGregor def. Mendes via TKO to win interim featherweight title

It might be surprising to see an interim title bout this high on the list, but there's no denying the magnitude of a McGregor fight, even back in 2015 before the Irishman cemented himself as the biggest star in MMA history. This was McGregor's biggest test to date - remember the narrative that he hadn't fought a wrestler? - and an undisputed title shot against the then-untouchable Jose Aldo was on the line.

1. Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 1

Event: UFC 226
Date: July 7, 2018
Result: Cormier def. Miocic via knockout to win heavyweight title

Miocic-Cormier 1, at least in the last seven years, is as good as it gets for International Fight Week. It was the light heavyweight champion moving up to heavyweight in a bid to become a two-division titleholder and the baddest man on the planet. Mendes-McGregor was much bigger in terms of pay-per-view sales, but if we're talking about the overall importance of a fight, this one is hard to top.