
Is Justin Gaethje the most entertaining fighter on the planet? He proved his title credentials with a violent victory against Donald Cerrone…
Justin Gaethje threw down his own claim for a title shot by violently beating Donald Cerrone in Vancouver. ‘The Highlight’ lived up to his name knocking out ‘Cowboy’ in a trademark violent performance. Now, he’s stretched his winning streak to three, with all of those victories knockouts.
Gaethje is consistently violent, which is why he ends up in so many main events. However, he’s proven in the past that brawling isn’t always a good idea. When it works though, it is devastating, as he showed against Cerrone once again.
Now he’s throwing his name out there for a shot against the winner of the likely title fight between Khabib Nurmagamedov and Tony Ferguson. It’s hard to argue with him right now because the man is definitely bringing eyes to the sport.
Y se acaba!!! Justin vence a Cowboy por TKO en round 1! #UFCVancouver pic.twitter.com/LcEBVAmqqS
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) September 15, 2019
First Round Finish
Donald Cerrone had been enjoying a career renaissance before running into Tony Ferguson. He had been hoping of getting back in the title picture by beating Gaethje. Now it looks like that avenue has finally closed off for him. Gaethje took him apart with a vicious first-round KO.
Few fighters can handle the pace of the former wrestler. He opened with his brutal leg kicks, with Cerrone trying to snipe back. However, the pace and pressure of Gaethje were just too much for the former contender. He knocked down ‘Cowboy’ with a big right hand and did the same when he got back up again.
After that, he landed a few ground strikes before the referee finally called off the fight. It was a brutally efficient showing from the former WSOF champion.
JUSTIN GAETHJE! He puts away Donald Cerrone in the first round in Vancouver! Unreal power 💥 https://t.co/RbgN40yZDJ
— FightingMatrix 👊 (@FightingMatrix) September 15, 2019
Winner
Let’s be clear: nobody will want to fight Justin Gaethje right now. He believes he’s done enough to earn a title shot though, and like Nate Diaz, he refused to call out Conor McGregor. In his post-fight interview, Gaethje said:
“The Irishman’s retired. I want a real fighter. I want the winner of Tony and Khabib.”
After their fight, @Justin_Gaethje's coach @TrevorWittman puts ice on @Cowboycerrone #UFCVancouver (h/t @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/TzfyIeEwEl
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 15, 2019
Highlight
“That was my friend, I didn’t want to keep punching him. I’ll be honest with you.”
Right now, Gaethje is one of the biggest draws in the promotion. Dana White’s dream of what a fighter should be, ‘The Highlight’ is one of the most violent men on the planet. You just have to love it.