After Donald Cerrone’s first round submission victory over Dennis Siver, is there anyone out there who can claim that Cerrone is not a contender for the lightweight title?
Cerrone has some of the best kickboxing in the lightweight division, and his 28-0-1 professional kickboxing record will attest to that.
But even if you put that aside, of Cerrone’s 17 career MMA victories, 13 have come via submissions.
So let’s process this for a moment.
Cerrone has outstanding kickboxing, and a fantastic ground game to back it up?
He has the makings of a title contender right there, if not a title holder.
Then, you can add in the fact that he has a height and reach advantage over most of the lightweight division, and the fact that he trains out of Greg Jackson’s camp, and you have an outstanding fighter.
Cerrone is on a tear in the UFC lightweight division, and he is probably one or two wins away from a shot at the title.
It’s about time Cerrone gets the recognition he deserves as one of the best lightweights in the world.
He doesn’t go out there looking for the biggest fights, or the best stylistic matchups, or even the most money.
He goes out there looking to fight, and fight as often as he can.
He’s calling out guys at featherweight, he’s willing to fight anyone at lightweight, and he even said he’d go to welterweight for a fight if he had to.
The Cowboy is just lookin’ for a tussle.
That’s the kind of attitude a champion needs.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow Tim on twitter @tmt2393.
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