It wasn’t that long ago that Donald Cerrone was a top-five fighter in the UFC welterweight division. It also wasn’t that long ago that “Cowboy” was fighting for the UFC lightweight title. But that seems like so long ago now. All…
It wasn’t that long ago that Donald Cerrone was a top-five fighter in the UFC welterweight division. It also wasn’t that long ago that “Cowboy” was fighting for the UFC lightweight title. But that seems like so long ago now. All of a sudden the long-time crowd favorite is on a three-fight losing streak, which […]
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is just 3 fights away from tying Michael Bisping’s record of 29 UFC fights. He’ll face Yancy Medeiros in the main event of UFC Fight Night 126 from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas Sunday night. Ac…
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is just 3 fights away from tying Michael Bisping’s record of 29 UFC fights. He’ll face Yancy Medeiros in the main event of UFC Fight Night 126 from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas Sunday night. According to Cowboy, he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. If he has his […]
The UFC makes a rare Sunday appearance when UFC Fight Night 126 goes down from Austin, Texas.
At the top of the slate, perennial fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on fellow knockout artist Yancy Medeiros, but the action doesn’t end there.
Here…
The UFC makes a rare Sunday appearance when UFC Fight Night 126 goes down from Austin, Texas.
At the top of the slate, perennial fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on fellow knockout artist Yancy Medeiros, but the action doesn’t end there.
Here are three fights you can’t miss from the capital city of the Lone Star State.
Welterweight
Donald Cerrone(32-10-1) vs. Yancy Medeiros (15-4-1)
These two fighters are trending in opposite directions. Medeiros has won three straight, all by stoppage. In his most recent contest, he knocked out “the other” Cowboy, Alex Oliveira, in a Fight of the Night performance.
Cerrone has lost three straight. If he were a lower-profile competitor, he might have received his UFC walking papers. But he is popular enough that that will probably never happen. Still, the guy could use a win.
Cerrone will bring his rangy muaythai against Medeiros‘ boxing. The Hawaiian will want to close the distance and neutralize Cowboy’s perimeter game.
The real X-factor, however, may be Medeiros‘ underrated grappling. That’s a solid plan B against Cerrone, who, while not exactly deficient on the ground, may find himself more vulnerable than he is on the feet. Sound the upset alarms.
Medeiros, TKO, Rd. 3
Heavyweight
Derrick Lewis (18-5-1) vs. MarcinTybura (16-3)
Odds:Tybura -141, Lewis +121
Airs on:Fox Sports 1
Derrick Lewis might be the hardest hitter in the entire UFC. He hasn’t competed since June, thanks to a back injury that forced him out of a bout with Fabricio Werdum at the 11th hour.
Tybura faced Werdum in November, but it didn’t go well; he dropped a dominant decision to the former champ. The Pole is not the most charismatic fighter on the UFC roster, but he is tough and well-rounded.
This is a classic heavyweight matchup. It could be a snoozer, with both men gassing early and reeling around the cage like characters in an Irish novel, or it could be a thunderous slugfest. Here’s predicting the latter.
Lewis, KO, Rd. 1
Welterweight
Brian Camozzi (7-4) vs. Geoff Neal (8-2)
Odds: Neal -200, Camozzi +170
Airs on:Fox Sports 1
Despite their relatively abbreviated records, these two have managed to rack up eight knockouts and five submissions between them. This one’s probably not going to the judges.
You may know Geoff Neal from the Tuesday Night Contender Series that airs on UFC Fight Pass. “Handz of Steel” doesn’t do anything particularly flashy, but he knows how to get inside and punish opponents with combinations.
Brian Camozzi is a little more well-rounded, but he has a penchant for reckless brawling. That will ultimately be his undoing, but it will also make for one heck of an entertaining scrap.
Fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will make his return in the main event of UFC Fight Night 126 on Feb. 18, 2017 in Austin, Texas against Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros, but he recently revealed that that wasn’t always plan. In fact, “Cowboy”, who has competed at 170 pounds for the last two years, recently revealed that […]
Fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will make his return in the main event of UFC Fight Night 126 on Feb. 18, 2017 in Austin, Texas against Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros, but he recently revealed that that wasn’t always plan.
In fact, “Cowboy”, who has competed at 170 pounds for the last two years, recently revealed that he was going to drop back down to lightweight for a rematch with Matt Brown:
“I was going back to 155-pounds, and I thought the fight was supposed to be with Matt Brown,” Cerrone told Jim Norton and Matt Serra in a recent appearance on UFC Unfiltered. “Matt Brown called, and I begged the UFC for the fight, I told them that he wanted to do it.”
“So originally, the fight was me and Matt Brown in Austin, main event,” Cerrone said. “So, I was like, ‘alright, I wanted to go down to 155, but f—k it, whatever, no problem. So then, they said ‘well, now Matt, I guess the day doesn’t work for him, I don’t know what the excuse was.”
Brown, who’s lost three of his last four fights, dropped a brutal knockout loss to Cerrone at UFC 206 in December 2016. He then bounced back with a vicious stoppage victory over Diego Sancez in a bout that he said he would retire after.
Cerrone, however, feels as if “The Immortal” may have wanted ‘redemption’:
“He was talking about retirement, and I guess maybe I was the fight that he wants redemption,” Cerrone said. “He doesn’t wanna go out like that – I have no idea. He was asking for the fight, and I was obliged to give it to him.”
As far as Medeiros goes, the 30-year-old has won three consecutive bouts and is coming off of a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate against Alex Oliveira at UFC 218 last month. When it was revealed that he would be available to fight, “Cowboy” jumped at the opportunity:
“So, now, here I am, main event in Austin, by myself, and then Yancy’s like ‘I’ll do it!’ So I said ‘OK, here we go!’
After dropping three straight fights, Cerrone will look to get back into the win column.
After UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought win over Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 219 last Saturday, the MMA world was thrust into controversy when a social media staff member and photographer at Holm’s longtime gym JacksonWink MMA posted a seething series of gender-based insults towards Cyborg. The photographer, whose name […]
After UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought win over Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 219 last Saturday, the MMA world was thrust into controversy when a social media staff member and photographer at Holm’s longtime gym JacksonWink MMA posted a seething series of gender-based insults towards Cyborg.
The photographer, whose name is Marc Aragon, has since had his credentials revoked by the promotion despite an apology Cyborg accepted. With the normally elite JacksonWink team on a downward slide in the cage as of late, the bad look was simply a mess the team didn’t need at the time – or ever.
And apparently at least one fighter isn’t happy about the bad publicity it lent the respected camp. On a three-fight losing streak himself, longtime JacksonWink face Donald Cerrone recently weighed in on the controversy on “UFC Unfiltered,” claiming that Aragon simply should not have posted what he did as a representative of the gym:
“I know (Cyborg), but regardless of who it was – like if somebody wants to go say that, do it on your own time,” Cerrone said. “You’re not the (expletive) media person for one of the largest MMA schools in the country and then (expletive) start talking like a total (expletive) jackass, you know what I mean? That was my take off that.”
There’s no doubt that Aragon made the team look bad, and it was to the point where no amount of non-apologizing was going to make them look good in this spot even if Aragon and the team’s Facebook claimed Cyborg called Holm a derogatory term after the fight herself, prompting the immature and hasty response.
As for ‘Cowboy,’ he’ll look to get off his recent slide against surging welterweight Yancy Medeiros in the main event of February 18’s UFC Fight Night 126.
In the midst of a three-fight losing streak, longtime fan favorite contender Donald Cerrone will set foot back into the cage against a rising contender on a completely different sort of career trajectory. Word came from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani today that “Cowboy” will make his comeback against surging welterweight Yancy Medeiros in the main […]
In the midst of a three-fight losing streak, longtime fan favorite contender Donald Cerrone will set foot back into the cage against a rising contender on a completely different sort of career trajectory.
Word came from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani today that “Cowboy” will make his comeback against surging welterweight Yancy Medeiros in the main event of UFC Austin on February 18, 2018.
Dropping three straight including two by finish throughout a tumultuous 2017, Cerrone was last seen getting stopped in the first round of his shocking UFC Gdansk main event against rising star Darren Till. He dropped his previous two bouts of the year to Robbie Lawler in a close decision and Jorge Masvidal in a brutal second-round knockout. “Cowboy” had previously won his first four fights at 170 after he moved up to welterweight following a failed lightweight title bid in late 2015.
Medeiros has found similar initial success at 170 pounds as well, winning three straight fights since his own move up from lightweight. He most recently beat Alex Oliveira in a rousing “fight of the Night” affair at UFC 218 earlier this month. The Hawaiian, who’s a good friend and training partner of UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway, will face his biggest step up in competition in the experienced veteran.
But many feel Cerrone’s chin has cracked as he’s taken a ton of damage thanks to his take-no-prisoners, fight anyone at anytime style. Against a brutal pressuring striker like Medeiros, that could be a big problem.
It could also be a ticket towards rebuilding from a down 2017.
The UFC makes a rare Sunday appearance when UFC Fight Night 126 goes down from Austin, Texas.