The ratings are in for last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 126: Cowboy vs. Medeiros from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and it turns out the biggest draw was not the main event. While Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s first-round TKO over Yancy Medeiros drew 893,000 viewers, it was Sage Northcutt’s fight against Thibault Gouti in the first […]
The ratings are in for last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 126: Cowboy vs. Medeiros from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and it turns out the biggest draw was not the main event.
While Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s first-round TKO over Yancy Medeiros drew 893,000 viewers, it was Sage Northcutt’s fight against Thibault Gouti in the first fight on the main card to draw the most eyeballs.
Northcutt drew 1,078,000 viewers, the highest number for the entire card. The UFC was competing against both the Olympics and NBA All-Star game on Sunday, however, the ratings were actually better than recent Fight Nights and PPVs that did far less in terms of viewership, even with less competition airing against it.
The UFC has promoted Northcutt quite a bit since his signing with the promotion in 2015, and although the 21-year-old has had mixed results thus far, it appears as if people are still tuning in to see “Super” Sage fight.
FOX says it’s streaming platforms averaged 13,959 viewers per minute as well.
UFC events are typically held on Saturday nights, making Sunday’s event in Austin a bit of an outlier. Last year, the UFC hosted a card on a Sunday headlined by Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne, which did 907,000 viewers albeit with much less competition airing simultaneously.
How do you feel about Northcutt being the card’s biggest draw, especially considering the fact that he hasn’t yet lived up to the UFC’s lofty potential?
The UFC put on a very entertaining free card on FOX Sports 1 this past weekend (Sun., Feb. 18, 2018) with UFC Fight Night 126 from Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, a card that seemingly eclipsed the past few pay-per-views in terms of overall action. In the main event, Donald Cerrone delivered a record […]
The UFC put on a very entertaining free card on FOX Sports 1 this past weekend (Sun., Feb. 18, 2018) with UFC Fight Night 126 from Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, a card that seemingly eclipsed the past few pay-per-views in terms of overall action.
In the main event, Donald Cerrone delivered a record 20 UFC wins with a TKO over a game but starstruck Yancy Medeiros.
Derrick Lewis got back on track with a TKO victory in a sloppy affair that saw “The Black Beast” fall backward for no real reason at all.
New names emerged, and others keep plugging along. Sage Northcutt got by on an extremely close decision over Thibault Gouti, and Thiago Alves got destroyed by a promising UFC newcomer.
Let’s take a look at what fights should be made after Sunday night!
5. Sage Northcutt vs. Joe Lauzon
After a decently-sized sample of fights to examine, Northcutt may be better off at lightweight than welterweight. Even though he won a contested decision on Sunday against Thibault Gouti, his UFC losses have all come at welterweight, so he will need to focus his attention on the 155-pound division if he has any designs of becoming a serious contender.
Now is the time to test him against a veteran to either win and gain some clout with a big name or give that same veteran an opportunity to school a young fighter and breathe a little more vitality into what is left of their fighting career.
Lauzon is the perfect man for the job. Although he’s coming off of a brutal KO loss to Clay Guida, Lauzon is always game and deserves another fight given his loyalty to the UFC for many years. If he can’t beat Northcutt, a young up-and-comer, he will ultimately have to evaluate how much more time he has left in this sport.
This sport has a tendency to cannibalize its older fighters once they have no use for them, almost like the horses in the book Animal Farm. Unfortunately, the end of a fighter’s career usually ends abruptly and often times, sadly. Here’s an opportunity for Lauzon to end on a possible high note.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will once again grace mixed martial arts (MMA) fans with his presence inside the Octagon this weekend (Sat. October 21, 2017) when he headlines UFC Fight Night 118 from Gdansk, Poland against up-and-coming welterweight prospect Darren Till. In the weeks leading up to the matchup, many have been making the argument that […]
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will once again grace mixed martial arts (MMA) fans with his presence inside the Octagon this weekend (Sat. October 21, 2017) when he headlines UFC Fight Night 118 from Gdansk, Poland against up-and-coming welterweight prospect Darren Till.
In the weeks leading up to the matchup, many have been making the argument that perhaps Cerrone is overlooking Till, an unbeaten Englishman who has proven capable of finishing a fight in spectacular fashion. They shouldn’t forget, however, that Cerrone has fought some of the most vicious competitors the sport has ever seen, and has almost always been in the top 10 rankings of whatever weight class he has competed in.
Cerrone recently spoke to MMA Junkie about the ‘gatekeeper’ moniker that has been attached to his name as of late, a position he seems to relish in and welcomes to see if Till can, in fact, ‘get past the gate’:
“Can you pass that test? It’s a good training exercise for Darren,” Cerrone said. “Welcome to the big leagues. Some people say, ”Cowboy’ is the gatekeeper.’ (Expletive) it: Can he get past the gate? We’ll see.
“It’s not like those things hurt my feelings. I know who I am, and it’s fine. I’ve been in this game a long time. This is my 34th Zuffa walk. I’ve been in the top 10 almost my entire career. That’s a pretty cool thing I can say. I’m here, I’m (expletive) going out and having fun, and I can’t (expletive) wait.”
UFC
Till seems extremely confident in his ability heading into the fight, and has openly claimed that he plans on finishing “Cowboy” quickly and easily. That’s easier said than done, and Cerrone is aware of the fact that when Tills steps into the Octagon against him come Saturday night it will be the biggest moment of his entire career.
There are questions that Cerrone says need to be answered regarding Till, and all of them will be once they’re locked inside the cage with one another and there’s no turning back:
“He’s a new up-and-comer,” Cerrone said. “Everyone’s like, ‘You’re overlooking him.’ At what point do I look past somebody? You mean the six weeks I’m training my ass for this fight? People are so strange. I train hard. I train the same always. I stay ready. Fighting is what I love to do. It doesn’t always go my way. Right now I’m two in the wrong. The Robbie fight, to me, that could have gone either way. People weren’t like, ‘Oh, you went out there and let us down.’ I fought the best in the world and (expletive) loved it.
“I’m glad Darren took the fight. He’s coming hard, I’m sure. This is the biggest moment of his life. Lights, camera, action, man. This is a big deal. Five rounds, a big fight. You went from the undercard to the big card. I’ve been there. This is just another day for me. But for him, this is a big test. Are you going to be able to show up? Is five rounds too much for you? Is it too much up (in the head)? Physically I’m sure you’re fine, but (mentally) it’s a big deal.”
Upon the bout’s initial booking Cerrone claimed that he had no idea who Till was and had never seen any film on him. That goes for any opponent “Cowboy” has ever stepped into the cage with, as he leaves the film watching to his coaches at Jackson-Wink MMA. Cerrone claims his initial comments weren’t meant to be a jab at Till and he meant no disrespect by it:
“It wasn’t any disrespect from me,” Cerrone said. “I wasn’t trying to like prod at the kid. I just didn’t know who he was. Honestly, I watch zero fights. It has nothing to do with me not training. My coaches, it’s their job. You guys study and let me train. I just don’t enjoy it. I don’t sit there. There’s some people that love that. They sit at home. I would rather go looking at castles and walking around. Last night I was watching YouTube videos on how people build and design castles. I guess I could have been watching Darren Till, but I wasn’t.”
In one of the most anticipated fights of the year, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler met former lightweight title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone head-to-head in the middle of the Octagon. Lawler hadn’t seen the inside of an Octagon since losing his then-170-pound title in the main event of UFC 201 to Tyron Woodley a […]
In one of the most anticipated fights of the year, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler met former lightweight title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone head-to-head in the middle of the Octagon.
Lawler hadn’t seen the inside of an Octagon since losing his then-170-pound title in the main event of UFC 201 to Tyron Woodley a year ago via first round knockout. The knockout artist is looking to get back on the winning track after having a five fight win streak snapped.
Cerrone also recently had a winning streak scrapped when he was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal late this past January. Prior to his loss, “Cowboy” racked up four straight finishes over the likes of Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, Rick Story, and Matt Brown. With a potential win over a former dominant champion such as “Ruthless” he could jump right into the 170-pound title picture.
Right out the gate Lawler brought the fight to “Cowboy,” who ate some big shots from the former welterweight champ, but paid him back for it with some zingers of his own. After a great back-and-forth match, the judges felt that it was “Ruthless” who did enough to earn the decision win.
You can check out the full fight video highlights here:
A welterweight bout between former 170-pound champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and longtime veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone will be taking place at UFC 214 this Saturday, July 29, 2017, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight was originally scheduled for last November’s UFC 205, and was then rescheduled for UFC 213 on July 8 […]
A welterweight bout between former 170-pound champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and longtime veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone will be taking place at UFC 214 this Saturday, July 29, 2017, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The fight was originally scheduled for last November’s UFC 205, and was then rescheduled for UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas, but according to UFC President Dana White, Cerrone suffered from a pulled groin and a staph infection, and was forced to pull out
To recover from the infection, ‘Cowboy’ had to be hooked up to an IV for seven days. In an Instagram post from June 28, Cerrone talked about his condition:
A post shared by Donald Cerrone (@cowboycerrone) on
Fast-forward a month later, and we have ourselves a highly anticipated fight between a brawler like Lawler,\ and a fan favorite like Cerrone. But is ‘Cowboy’ ready to take on the former welterweight champion?
Staph infections can range from simple skin boils to life-threatening, flesh-eating infections. These are common amongst fighters due to the highly infectious nature of the bacteria that causes it and the fact that it spreads through physical contact.
Most people only develop blisters, but in ‘Cowboy’s’ case, the infection spread into his bloodstream. It’s unclear how serious his condition was, but some of the symptoms of an infection of that nature could be nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, fever, joint, and muscle pain.
It can be treated within days or weeks of diagnosis, and according to Cerrone, he only needed a week of IV to treat it. But ‘Cowboy’ has been known to be careless with his own well-being in order to fight, and Lawler might make him pay for it.
The last time Cerrone rushed a fight, it cost him dearly.
He had been on a tear after making the move from lightweight to welterweight early in 2016 as he had finished all four opponents who fought him that year. With three spectacular knockouts and one brilliant submission, ‘Cowboy’ was on his way towards UFC gold, until he ran into a brick wall by the name of Jorge Masvidal.
Even though Cerrone had a war with Matt Brown in December 2016 where he was dropped multiple times, he insisted in fighting in his hometown of Denver, CO, just slightly over a month later.
‘Cowboy’ probably did not give himself enough time to recover and even less time to prepare for an opponent as dangerous as Masvidal. His desire to fight in his hometown clouded his judgment and he was absolutely destroyed by Masvidal, getting brutally knocked out in the second round after barely making it out of the first.
Following his loss, the UFC gave him a medical suspension for 45 days. Regardless, this time Cerrone gave himself over six months to recover to the point any leftover damage from his knockout had been taken care of. Now, he will just have to deal with injuries from training camp and with his staph infection.
On the other hand, Lawler has given himself an entire year since his last fight where he was obliterated by a big shot from Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 last July, losing his title in the process.
Lawler was clearly hurt by the knockout, as he declined to fight ‘Cowboy’ at the UFC 205 last November, asking for more time to recover. Hopefully ‘Ruthless’ is back to full health by now, as he has not cited any training camp injuries, so he could be walking into this fight with a health advantage.
‘Cowboy’ could be fully recovered by now, but it is not in his character to admit weakness or pull out of fights for his own sake. If he is still suffering the effects of the infection and other training camp injuries, he could be once again running headfirst into another brick wall.
On Saturday, he will share the Octagon with a healthy Lawler, a ruthless post-fight bonus machine all-too-familiar with classic bouts. We will see if Cerrone has what it takes to overcome personal health problems, defeat the ‘Ruthless’ one, and offer us the incredible fight this was destined to be.
In our co-main event of UFC on FOX 23 earlier tonight (Sat. January 28, 2016) No. 5-ranked welterweight Donald Cerrone met No. 12-ranked Jorge Masvidal inside the Octagon. The first round opened up with an exchange of leg kicks from both men, before Masvidal got into his groove and began landing combinations flush to the
In our co-main event of UFC on FOX 23 earlier tonight (Sat. January 28, 2016) No. 5-ranked welterweight Donald Cerrone met No. 12-ranked Jorge Masvidal inside the Octagon.
The first round opened up with an exchange of leg kicks from both men, before Masvidal got into his groove and began landing combinations flush to the face of ‘Cowboy’. ‘Gamebred’ ended his onslaught with what looked like a knockout win at the end of the first round; however, referee Herb Dean claimed the bell rang before he waved the contest off.
In the second round Masvidal took advantage of a dazed Cerrone, finishing the contest with a slew of unanswered shots against the cage. With the win over one of the UFC’s biggest stars, Masvidal could very well be looking at huge step up in competition next.
You can check out the full fight video highlights from Masvidal and Cerrone’s scrap right here:
