In his continued march toward a lightweight title fight, Donald Cerrone showed the world just how good he can be against a very game Myles Jury at UFC 182. Many thought the young upstart would give Cerrone issues in the co-main event on Saturday night, but it was “Cowboy” doing the bulk of the damage when they met up.
Here’s what we learned.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
That Cerrone asserted his dominance everywhere and proved that he’s truly one of the top 155ers alive today. Jury was streaking coming into the bout, but he looked badly outclassed everywhere and was ruthlessly sent back to the drawing board by one of the most popular men in the UFC.
What We Learned About Donald Cerrone
That this trek toward the top of the division is different than those who have come before it.
More than once in his career, Cerrone has had good runs or lengthy win streaks only to fall short when the top of the mountain was within reach. This time, he dominated one of the nastiest young contenders in the game like it was a sparring session.
He could easily lay claim to a title shot after this performance, though his desire to stay active will probably prevent that from happening.
What We Learned About Myles Jury
That it’s simply not his time yet.
He’s still young and has plenty of hype behind him, but he’s not one of the truly elite competitors in the world just yet. He had his game plan and tried to implement it, but once Plan A failed miserably the world saw that Plan B was essentially founded on receiving a dreadful beating and suffering a loss.
He’ll get there one day, but he’s not there yet.
What’s Next for Cerrone
There’s no telling what Cerrone might do next. He deserves a title shot, but he’d likely rather fight anyone as soon as possible than not fight anyone and have to wait for that shot to come.
Khabib Nurmagomedov makes sense as a title eliminator, but Cerrone could fight literally anyone given his level of activity.
What’s Next for Jury
Jury still needs to be tested against solid competition and veteran guys, as he’s still one of the better prospects in the business. Jim Miller or Nate Diaz might make sense, or perhaps Ross Pearson.
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