Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back at it again last night (Sat., Sept. 14, 2019) as UFC Fight Night 158 went down from inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In the headlining act, Justin Gaethje knocked out Donald Cerrone in the very first round to earn his third straight win (see it again here). In the co-main event, Glover Teixeira scored a split-decision victory over Nikita Krylov (recap).
Biggest Winner: Justin Gaethje
Gaethje is a bad man, and he proved it once again last night after knocking out Cerrone in the very fist round, clipping “Cowboy” with a clean right hand that dropped the longtime veteran. He then followed it up with some brutal uppercuts the dropped Donald once again.
Expecting the stoppage, Gaethje pleaded with the referee to stop the fight on two occasions, as he clearly didn’t want to hit “Cowboy” with unnecessary shots. But since the ref let it play on, Justin had no choice but to reluctantly land some more blows. That is now three straight wins — all via first-round knockout — for “The Highlight,” which should move him up to No. 4, if not not No.3, overtaking Conor McGregor in the process. Speaking of Conor, Gaethje revealed he has no interest in fighting the Irishman anymore, as he is looking for bigger and better things in the form a shot at the title.
Runner Up: Tristan Connelly
Connelly got the call up to face Michel Pereira on super-short notice and he made the best of it, upsetting his foe via unanimous decision. Michel started off the fight by showboating, obviously a sign of his lack of respect for Tristan. Undeterred, Connelly stuck to his gameplan, pushing the pace and picking his shots.
He showed great composure for a UFC rookie, especially against someone who was clearly not taking him serious. To top it off, he did in his hometown, under the brightest lights of them all. Tristan proved he’s the real deal, and if he keeps this same cool moving forward, he could make some noise in a highly-crowded Welterweight division. For the cherry on top, Tristan not only won a $50,000 post-fight bonus for “Fight of the Night,” but he also took Michel’s $50,000, as well, since Pereira was ineligible for post-fight bonus money for failing to make weight. Talk about a perfect debut.
Biggest Loser: Michel Pereira
Michel was the biggest loser on many fronts this weekend. First, he came in heavy for the fight, failing to hit the 170-pound mark which forced him to cough over some of his purse to Tristan, making him ineligible for any post-fight bonus in the process. Then, Pereira decided to make a fool of himself once fight night came. Yes, we have several cocky fighters in the game, but this man took it overboard. If walking down the aisle with a choreographed routine wasn’t enough, he proceeded to break dance during his intro. To start things off, Michel tried to connect on a superman punch, then executed the first-ever back flip during a fight, straight into an attempt at Anthony Pettis’ “Showtime” kick, into a flying knee. None of which landed.
He then did another back flip later in the first. It was cringe-worthy indeed for the simple fact that he had no business coming in that cocky after failing to make weight. To make matters worse, he got outclassed by a UFC rookie who didn’t buy into his theatrics. Perhaps next time Michel will focus more on fighting and making weight than trying to entertain the crowd with unnecessary and foolish showboating. Listen, everyone likes a bit of confidence and entertainment, but this was flat-out ridiculous and he rightfully paid the price by being force fed a big slice of humble pie. He also won $50,000 for “Fight of the Night,” which he then saw go straight into Tristan’s bank account for coming in heavy.
For complete UFC Fight Night 158: “Gaethje vs. Cerrone” results and play-by-play, click HERE!