‘Cowboy’ Cerrone Gets Back to Winning Ways in the Most Dramatic Fashion at UFC Austin…
Donald Cerrone is one of the most watchable fighters in the UFC. A firm fan-favorite because of his constant activity, ‘Cowboy’ faced off against Hawaiian opponent Yancy Medeiros in the main event of UFC on Fox 126 last night. He won by KO in the most devastating and dramatic style possible.
The event took place in Austin, Texas. Cerrone has been on a poor run of form of late. He had lost his previous three fights. Darren Till, Robbie Lawler, and Jorge Masvidal all managed to get wins off the former lightweight contender.
In total contrast, Medeiros was coming into the fight off the back of a three-fight win streak. His most recent was against the other ‘Cowboy,’ Alex Oliveira. Many analysts believed that Cerrone was a fading force, and would be demolished by a younger, hungrier fighter. Well, clearly Cerrone wasn’t listening.
Dramatic Finish
In all honesty, Cerrone didn’t start off very well against Medeiros. The Hawaiian started off aggressively, landing some crisp head and body shots. He started to show his experienced opponent a bit too much respect, and Cerrone started to get back into the fight.
The round can basically be summed up in thirty seconds. Cerrone landed two hard, sharp right hands that buckled the younger man. Medeiros fell on his face and ‘Cowboy’ didn’t need to be given an invitation to follow up with ground and pound. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 4.58 mins of the first round. Two seconds to spare.
https://twitter.com/CoastalMMA/status/965452064858955776
Magic Moment
Both fighters clearly had nothing but the utmost respect for the other. In the era of trash talk and self-promotion, it was special to see their reactions after the fight. Medeiros left the cage and went over to embrace Cerrone’s grandmother, who kissed him on the cheek. Cerrone is known to have a very close relationship with his grandmother, so this was a classy show of respect from the Hawaiian.
It was also statistically a landmark moment for ‘Cowboy’. He moved level with Michael Bisping for most wins in the UFC. You wouldn’t bet against him eventually claiming the record for his own either. A fantastic achievement by the Denver native.
Donald Cerrone is back to winning ways! 👊
Cowboy finished Yancy Medeiros with no time left in the first round of the main event at #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/U3wsTORvtp
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) February 19, 2018
Middle Ground
In his post-fight interview, Cerrone said that he would be an even better fighter if there was a division between lightweight and welterweight. Despite this, he has an excellent overall UFC record in both divisions with 20 wins in the UFC and 7 defeats. He said:
“I can make 160 pounds. It’s just that little bit, I just don’t have the bodyfat, or I’m too lean”.
Incredibly, ‘Cowboy’ was guzzling beer, pizzas, and nachos the night before weigh-in and still came in at 168 pounds – a full two pounds under the 170 limit. It’s wishful thinking on his part of course, but it does show the disparity between some of the weight classes in the UFC. Despite this, Cerrone has proven that he still has the hunger to keep winning.
