For a man known for pulling off feats of ninja-like brilliance at 170lbs, Donald Cerrone will, deep down, have appreciated the technique that put him away on Saturday night.
‘Cowboy’ was chasing his 20th victory in the UFC, a feat that would have been all the more impressive by the fact that he did not make his Octagon debut until 2011 but it wasn’t to be in his home town of Denver, Colorado.
Cerrone had previously looked unbeatable at welterweight ever since moving up following his crushing defeat to then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in December, 2015.
Prior to Saturday night, ‘Cowboy’ had gone 4-0 at welterweight with all four victories coming by way of a finish.
But Jorge Masvidal is not easily put away and it was he who had his hand raised when he tussled with Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 23.
https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/825145939874689025
Masvidal is now enjoying a run of his own at 170lbs as Cerrone became the third consecutive victim of ‘Gamebred’.
The bout came close to being waved off in the first, after a counter one-two dropped Cerrone and Masvidal poured on ground-and-pound but the bell signalled an end to the opening frame.
There wasn’t much fight left in the visibly rocked ‘Cowboy’ in the second round and he kept his chin uncharacteristically in the air as he exited following an attempted body kick.
Jorge Masvidal finished Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in Cowboy's hometown. Wicked accuracy by Masvidal. #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/EADJ3vaDYd
— Ahmar Khan (@AhmarSKhan) January 29, 2017
Well aware that Cerrone had been susceptible to body shots in the past, Masvidal torqued a number of digging hooks into his opponent’s midsection before Herb Dean had seen enough.
Masvidal will enjoy a shot up the rankings while Cerrone will be back.
He’s probably texting UFC president Dana White right now…
