UFC Austin, The Morning After: Cerrone Resurrects Career in Texas

What you may have missed from last night

“I am told, gentlemen, that, when a stranger, like myself, arrives among you, the first inquiry is – what brought you here? To satisfy your curiosity at once to myself, I will tell you all about it. I was, for some years, a member of congress. In my last canvass, I told the people of my district, that, if they saw fit to re-elect me, I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but, if not, they might go to h__, and I would go to Texas. I was beaten, gentlemen, and here I am.”

-Davy Crockett

The above is a longer, perhaps more accurate version of Davy Crockett’s famous bumper-sticker quote, “You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.” Like Crockett, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone found himself beaten, thrice, and therefore in Texas last night. Like Crockett, he appeared to be having a good time, which is generally anathema to his foes. Unlike Crockett, the foe he faced wouldn’t mean his heroic end.

Against Yancy Medeiros, he found both a willing dance partner and an opponent who refused to play mind games. The commentary team remarked afterwards that whenever you give Cerrone that mutual respect in the Octagon, he tends to knock you out. That certainly held true last night. After a round of traded leather, with Yancy refusing to back down even in the slightest, Cerrone wobbled him with a well-placed counter right hand. As Medeiros stumbled to the canvas, Cerrone followed him with a barrage of punches, getting the stoppage with two seconds left on the clock.

Such is the margin between victory and defeat, between four losses in a row and a revitalized career. Cerrone has earned himself some breathing room in a stacked welterweight division. His win capped off a really fun night for the Texas crowd, who saw home state favorites win up and down the card. Derrick Lewis got a third round KO in a heavyweight funfest, while Sage Northcutt got a decision. There was no shortage of stoppages, either, with only four out of twelve fights going the distance. It was proof that yes, even cards that don’t have the biggest name value on paper can come through with the violence.

---

Sunday Funday

Nate Diaz, seizing the moment. This was seconds after Derrick Lewis told his wife he’s “going deep tonight.”

Texas boys eat a lot and hit hard.

Feel old yet?

Sage’s flipping skills are unprecedented in the UFC

This is me.

The inimitable Cowboy Cerrone

Carlos Diego Ferreira did perhaps the smartest thing you can do in MMA:

Dick kicks, then this:

This is one of the best parody accounts out there.

Fantastic semi-bulldog choke from Geoffrey Neal. There was more than one great welterweight debut last night! Curtis Millender also got a spectacular knockout over Thiago Alves.

Gustafsson getting in some bag work

Eddie Alvarez taking his daughter to Disney is as adorable as you might think.

Israel Adesanya reminding me I don’t include enough Tommy Toehold in Midnight Mania

Shoutout to Houston’s own Alex Morono for winning his fight against Josh Burkman with this savage guillotine

Classic quote from Nick Diaz

Anderson and his bald head are perfectly suited to this prank

Iconic from Angela Hill

McGregor’s use of senior here is forced, but hopefully this is good news and not reverse psychology. McGregor back in MMA fighting someone like Ferguson or Nurmagomedov is what we all really want to see.

I got tired just watching Glory kickboxer Tiffany Van Soest pull this sled.

Jon Jones insulting the people who think he took steroids is probably a really effective PR strategy in MMA, and it has the benefit of being authentic to his personality.

That’s just A-level trolling

Matt Brown really wants to punch Snoop Dogg

In case you missed Kevin Wirth’s sweet side-kick to the head at LFA 33:

A little Sunday Random Land for you, because this guy’s Instagram account is well worth following. Stunning pictures and cool stories behind each one.

Enjoy your Sunday, Maniacs!