The UFC put a great deal of effort into Donald Cerrone’s rise to the UFC title picture, and it did not pay off. Rafael dos Anjos made quick work of Cowboy and sent the UFC executives, and the many fans rooting for the challenger, home with a frown on their face.
To say this is a surprise would be an understatement, not because dos Anjos won, mind you, but because of how he won.
Dos Anjos, for the most part, is a pressure-focused fighter, who has won fights with his veteran savvy. The blueprint for a dos Anjos fight is to cut angles, keep opponents’ backs to the cage and mix wrestling and striking to score points.
That, however, wasn’t the case at UFC on Fox 17. Dos Anjos came out hot and heavy early, shooting for a takedown and landing a left hand after Cerrone’s sprawl. While it didn’t look like much at the time, that punch wobbled Cerrone and sent the proverbial snowball down the hill.
Dos Anjos landed a knee to the body and then a liver kick, followed by a hard punch. Cerrone was folding in half on his feet and couldn’t defend both his static-filled head and his aching torso. The champ knew it, too. Fox Sports: UFC noted dos Anjos’ “crushing body kick” to Cowboy:
More punches, then another knee and then even more punches came in a flurry. Cerrone was down in a fetal position, and dos Anjos made sure to end the fight there. He kept pouring on punishment until, at 1:06 of Round 1, Herb Dean waved the proceedings to a close.
Dos Anjos gave an impressive, dominant performance that forces fans and pundits to change their expectations of the Brazilian. With flash finishes to his name over the sturdy-chinned former champ Ben Henderson and Jason High, it’s time to start wondering if dos Anjos might just be a dynamic finisher, on top of being one of the game’s most methodical fighters. If he truly is as good as he looked here, it might be time to start considering him one of the greatest champs in the game today.
Here are some other notes and thoughts on the fight:
- The UFC is undoubtedly disappointed with that outcome. Cerrone is arguably the biggest name at 155 pounds, and if he held a title as well, he would have been pay-per-view main event material. Dos Anjos is an excellent fighter, but he just hasn’t caught on with fans.
- Not only is the UFC disappointed, but so are a slew of fighters who were hoping for Cowboy to take the title. Conor McGregor most likely won’t be as interested in moving up to 155 pounds with a less than popular fighter holding gold. Oh, and Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz are both in a tough spot after that.
- You know who is happy about that, though? Relative newcomers to the Top 10. Tony Ferguson and Eddie Alvarez are almost contenders by default. And of course, Khabib Nurmagomedov must be licking his chops.
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