Donald Cerrone isn’t one to sit around and wait for a fight, but a shot at the lightweight title is apparently something he’ll make an exception for.
The hard-charging striker has become one of the most popular fighters in mixed martial arts due to his anytime, anyplace mentality, and has backed up that bold talk by stepping in against anyone the UFC has put across from him. The Colorado native’s current eight-fight winning streak is further proof of this mindset as a mixture of short notice turns and last-minute opponent changes have all found themselves on the losing end of a another impressive Cerrone performance.
The most recent victim on the Jackson/Winkeljohn representative’s run was John Makdessi at UFC 187, as Cerrone landed a head kick that forced The Bull to verbally submit due to a broken jaw suffered upon impact. With the win, Cerrone become the clear No. 1 contender for the lightweight crown, but with champion Rafael dos Anjos on the shelf recovering from injury, it was unclear whether or not the rangy striker would wait for his shot to materialize or take another bout in the interim.
That question was answered on Wednesday night’s version of UFC Tonight (h/t Damon Martin Fox Sports), as the UFC confirmed to the program Cerrone would be sitting out and waiting for his title shot. While there is no definitive time line set for RDA’s return to action, the promotion figures the Kings MMA representative will be ready to defend his title before the end of the year. With no other matchup besides a rematch with Cerrone making sense, it’s possible Cowboy could get his long-awaited title opportunity before 2015 comes to a close.
The two fighters initially crossed paths at Fight Night 27 in Indianapolis back in August of 2013 with dos Anjos earning a clear-cut unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Since his loss to the Rafael Cordeiro-trained fighter in “The Circle City,” Cerrone has not only bested eight consecutive opponents, but has done so in what is arguably the most talent-rich division under the UFC banner.
And while dos Anjos would go on to lose to undefeated upstart Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next bout after defeating the Albuquerque-based fighter, that loss sparked the most impressive run of the 30-year-old grappling ace’s career. Dos Anjos has notched four-straight wins since losing to The Eagle, with his most recent victory coming in dominate fashion as he battered Anthony Pettis for 25 minutes to become the new lightweight champion.
The injury dos Anjos is currently recuperating from came during his tilt with Showtime, and he’s yet to make his first official attempt to defend the lightweight strap. Per Wednesday’s report on UFC Tonight, it seems that opportunity will come at the end of 2015, and Cerrone is going to be his dance partner inside the Octagon.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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