Jorge Masvidal put on an impressive performance at UFC on Fox 23 last Saturday. The tough Masvidal broke Donald Cerrone down in two rounds, much to the surprise of many observers. ‘Cowboy’ saw his four-win streak at welterweight halted, potentially interfering with a chance at champion tyron Woodley’s crown. What made matters worse is that Cerrone was conquered in his […]
Jorge Masvidal put on an impressive performance at UFC on Fox 23 last Saturday. The tough Masvidal broke Donald Cerrone down in two rounds, much to the surprise of many observers. ‘Cowboy’ saw his four-win streak at welterweight halted, potentially interfering with a chance at champion tyron Woodley’s crown. What made matters worse is that Cerrone was conquered in his […]
This past Saturday at UFC on Fox 23, Jorge Masvidal put on the most impressive performance of his 14-year professional MMA career. His opponent, Donald Cerrone, had been knocked out only twice in his previous 40 MMA fights before stepping into the cage…
This past Saturday at UFC on Fox 23, Jorge Masvidal put on the most impressive performance of his 14-year professional MMA career. His opponent, Donald Cerrone, had been knocked out only twice in his previous 40 MMA fights before stepping into the cage with Masvidal.
If you weren’t familiar with Gamebred heading into this fight, you’re probably not the only one. Despite his 42 professional MMA fights prior to this one, he had always come up short in his most high-profile bouts. He had yet to produce a star-making performance.
His victory over Cowboy changed all that.
Given that Masvidal’s name is hotter than ever, it’s worth looking back in time when he competed in backyard fights. His two most high-profile fights came against Kimbo’s protege. Ray was the bigger and seemingly stronger fighter, but Masvidal used his superior technique and speed to wear him down and pick him apart. In both fights, Ray was left with no choice but to quit (warning: NFSW language).
“He was going nuts. He took me out to eat dinner and at the time I was dead broke. He took me to this fancy-ass place and at the time I was like, ‘Damn, this dude’s balling.’ And it was just cool as (expletive). I thought we were going to have to do some thugged-out (expletive), like run out on the bill, but he paid for the whole thing. I was like, ‘Man, this is some crazy (expletive).'”
All these years later and Gamebred appears to be in the best fight shape of his life. Perhaps he’s finally on his way to making a title run, assuming he can string together a few more impressive wins.
After years of slugging it out against the nastiest dudes in the backyard, ring and cage, Jorge Masvidal scored a massive win Saturday night when he pounded Donald Cerrone on his way to a stoppage early in the second round.
The win—one the M…
After years of slugging it out against the nastiest dudes in the backyard, ring and cage, Jorge Masvidal scored a massive win Saturday night when he pounded Donald Cerrone on his way to a stoppage early in the second round.
The win—one the MMA world exploded over but Masvidal was reticent to accept as the biggest of his career—catapulted the Floridian onto the fringes of title contention.
“I’ll let the fans say that [this is the biggest win of my career],” he told UFC Correspondent Megan Olivi after the fight. “Maybe the biggest win in UFC, but I’ve been all over the world kicking butt for a long time before I got here. So in my book, no, it’s not the biggest.”
With slick boxing, good scrambling and grappling, and years of honing his craft at the highest levels, Gamebred is now making his run as a relatively newly minted welterweight.
Yet despite his hardened visage and nasty outlook on the fight game, it appears the newest contender in the 170-pound division has a heart.
After he had gunned for Cerrone on his way to securing their meeting in Denver, made his disdain for his opponent known the whole way through the lead-up and then dispatched the iconic Cowboy in vicious fashion, it was an unforeseen meeting on the way back to his locker room that melted Masvidal.
He crossed paths with Cerrone’s grandmother.
Among his biggest fans, Cerrone’s grandmother has followed him to fights all over the country and remains close to one of the UFC’s most active stars. Masvidal said of the meeting: “She killed me, man. That was like a hard blow. She just came up to me and she said, ‘That’s my grandson, and you’re a great fighter, and nobody has taken out my grandson like that.'”
He went on to consider the idea he may be the “bad guy” in the lead-up to his fights, as his game face and the need to do harm push his heart to the back seat. Yet after talking to Cerrone’s grandmother, Masvidal was reflective: “Things like that, they get me. I don’t wanna beat nobody in front of their mom or grandma. I have kids, I couldn’t imagine seeing my kids going in there. So that hurt a little bit, you know?”
With the fight over and the knockout officially on the books, Masvidal was respectful of Cerrone’s toughness and grit—something that will surely leave Nana Cerrone with a smile on her face, even despite her grandson’s loss.
“The couple shots that I hit him with on the ground, not a lot of dudes would get back up and want to keep going,” he said. “He gave it all he had, so he’s got all my respect in the world.”
There is no word on Masvidal’s next matchup, but UFC President Dana White was highly impressed, so one could expect another high-profile bout is on deck.
Conor McGregor talked a metric ton of trash over the weekend which is pretty interesting stuff to dissect. But while all his talk may be interesting there are still some interesting topics to tackle as far as this past weekend’s fights are concerned. The main and co-main event of UFC Denver saw a pretty dominating victory and an unforeseen upset cap off a night of fairly entertaining fights. Valentina Shevchenko and Jorge Masvidal left the event in considerably higher standings than when they first arrived in Colorado.
Conor McGregor talked a metric ton of trash over the weekend which is pretty interesting stuff to dissect. But while all his talk may be interesting there are still some interesting topics to tackle as far as this past weekend’s fights are concerned. The main and co-main event of UFC Denver saw a pretty dominating victory and an unforeseen upset cap off a night of fairly entertaining fights. Valentina Shevchenko and Jorge Masvidal left the event in considerably higher standings than when they first arrived in Colorado.
For Shevchenko’s part she proved that she’s a slow starter no longer. Her judo black belt came in handy when she took Julianna Pena to the ground in the first round with relative ease. She dominated top position of a majority of the opening five minutes until a Pena armbar submission threatened to put all that hard work to waste. Even though it appeared tight, by the closing seconds it was obvious that Shevchenko had escaped danger even before the bell rang to end the round. Where it seemed like Shevchenko was playing a dangerous game by remaining in the clinch with Julianna Pena, the reality is that the “Venezuelan Vixen” was in fact biting off more than she could chew. Even after getting the fight to the ground where she wanted it, Pena couldn’t land any significant offense while Shevchenko remained patient in hunting for the fight ending armbar she slapped on her opponent seemingly out of nowhere. While many agreed that Shevchenko needed to win the fight on the feet in order to secure victory, the truth of the matter is that Valentina has been hiding some tricks up her sleeves and proved that even a risky situation can indeed pay dividends.
For Donald Cerrone that proved to be less than true.
After an impressive finish of Matt Brown at December’s UFC 206, there appeared to be nothing but upside for “Cowboy” Cerrone. But it appeared that his propensity to fight anyone at any place at any time got the better of him as he faced off with Jorge Masvidal. Cerrone won most of the first round which shouldn’t be ignored. But winning most of a round means nothing if you’re almost flatlined by the end of it. Masvidal executed a flawless game plan. The kicks of Cerrone have always been a dangerous weapon, but going to the well too often can leave it dry. Cerrone threw one too many kicks and Masvidal exploded forward with well timed right hand counters over the top. Cerrone has never been the best boxer in the game and Masvidal has always shown a propensity to light guys up with his hands. Kicking was definitely the best option for Cerrone, but the lack of variety gave Masvidal some easy reads as the fight wore on.
The knock out in the second round was a bit disheartening to watch simply because of the fact that Cerrone lost in front of his hometown fans. But this is the hurt business as they say and no matter how you look at it the game is always risk versus reward. Cerrone fighting so often may have been to his detriment. Though he performs better when he’s on a roll, the fact of the matter is that there are always diminishing returns as far as this game goes and taking a sabbatical from time to time can evolve a person’s game, even a man Cerrone. For now he has to go back to the drawing board while Jorge Masvidal announces himself as a person of interest in the welterweight division.
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Although it wasn’t the most stacked card of the year, UFC on FOX 23 was plentiful with meaningful fights. Featuring fights from nine of the existing 11 weight classes, the promotion’s trip to Denver, Colorado has proved fruitful in creating some great fights. From potential title contenders, to fun fights for the fans and also championship
Although it wasn’t the most stacked card of the year, UFC on FOX 23 was plentiful with meaningful fights. Featuring fights from nine of the existing 11 weight classes, the promotion’s trip to Denver, Colorado has proved fruitful in creating some great fights. From potential title contenders, to fun fights for the fans and also championship locks, there are some very interesting fights to make after UFC on FOX 23.
Here’s how we think the matchmaking should pan out after last weekend’s festivities!
Mandatory Credit: Michael Adamucci-USA TODAY Sports
Francis Ngannou vs. Cain Velasquez
Facing the former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, a lot of eyes were on Francis Ngannou in Denver. The dangerous French Cameroonian was looking to prove he can go up a level, and he did it in a big way. Crushing Arlovski with a barrage of strikes, ‘The Predator’ got a 92-second TKO win. Who better for Ngannou to face than former two-time heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez?
With Junior dos Santos reported to be facing Stipe Miocic next, Velasquez might be on the look out for some fresh blood. Both men have a lot to gain and lose from this fight, making it all the more intriguing. Currently on a five-fight/finish streak in the UFC, ‘The Predator’ is 10-1 overall, and hasn’t lost since 2013.
Jorge Masvidal vs. Robbie Lawler
Another UFC on FOX 23 star with a lot to play for, and another who came out smelling of roses. Former street fighter Jorge Masvidal had a lot of people betting against him in Denver. Against Donald Cerrone, ‘Gamebred’ had a streaking striker with a litany of devastating finishes in his wake. Putting in the performance of the night, Masvidal crushed ‘Cowboy’ with a nasty second round TKO.
Now that he’s ran through Cerrone, there’s one fight that would seem perfect. Ex-champion Robbie Lawler recently left American Top Team, co-incidentally where Masvidal trains too. With both men preferring gruelling standing wars, this could be a great one for the fans.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Raphael Assunção vs. Dominick Cruz
For a long time Raphael Assunção was being talked about for a bantamweight title fight. Considering he’d beaten TJ Dillashaw in 2013, and ‘The Viper’ was 135-pound boss between 2014-14, fans wanted to see this fight. Also, the Brazilian was riding seven straight fights, but then a two-year injury sit saw the division move on.
Returning to finally rematch Dillashaw at UFC 200, albeit not for the belt, Assunção lost a unanimous decision. At UFC on FOX 23, Assunção defeated Serra-Longo prospect Aljamain Sterling, and now a fight with Dominick Cruz would definitely make sense. With champion Cody Garbrandt and his rival TJ Dillashaw set to fight, either a bout with ‘The Dominator’ would be great in creating a contender.
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes
Although an obvious statement, this fight really needs to happen. I don’t usually say this, but I actually agree with Dana White’s comments about Nunes. Yes, they ‘allowed’ Conor McGregor to move up and fight at 155 without defending his belt, but do we really want that happening in every division. Of course, Nunes has already defended her title once against Ronda Rousey, but wouldn’t a superfight become even more worthy if she notches three or maybe four straight wins as champ?
Shevchenko’s credentials after mauling Julianna Pena are undeniable, and eve though it was incredibly cringe-worthy, her face-off with Nunes’ after the fight was much deserved. With unfinished business after their first fight, ‘Bullet’ vs. ‘The Lioness’ is the only option now.
Count Jorge Masvidal as another fighter who sees dollar signs. “Gamebred” took on Donald Cerrone last night (Jan. 28) inside the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Masvidal turned in what many would consider to be the best performance of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. He earned a TKO win in the second round. While […]
Count Jorge Masvidal as another fighter who sees dollar signs. “Gamebred” took on Donald Cerrone last night (Jan. 28) inside the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Masvidal turned in what many would consider to be the best performance of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. He earned a TKO win in the second round. While […]
This past Saturday at UFC on Fox 23, Jorge Masvidal put on 
