Donald Cerrone’s Cinderella march through the welterweight division encountered its first bit of adversity Saturday at UFC on Fox 23.
Jorge Masvidal dashed Cerrone’s four-fight winning streak at 170 pounds, stopping the popular Cowboy via second-round TKO during their co-main event bout at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
Cerrone came into their bout ranked No. 5 in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, and it was thought this bout shaped up as a good chance for him to make his case as one of the weight class’ top contenders.
Instead, it was Masvidal who made the emphatic statement.
“I’m excited man, but back to business,” Masvidal told UFC color commentator Brian Stann on Fox in the cage when it was over. “The real is back. There’s lot of fake media out there, a lot of BS going on. I’m a real fighter. I don’t take pictures on social media and all that, that’s why my name ain’t out there, but I kick ass. If you like watching people that kick ass, tune in.”
Masvidal also offered to put up $200,000 in a bet against UFC President Dana White, arguing that White couldn’t find a welterweight fighter who can beat him.
Suffice to say, this was an eye-opening turn of events for the 170-pound pecking order.
Masvidal came into the bout on the heels of two straight wins, and adding a stoppage victory against the surging Cerrone could see him rocketing up the 170-pound rankings.
We already know welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will rematch with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 209 on March 4. The winner of that bout will likely take on a challenge from a wide-open field of contenders that could include former champ Robbie Lawler, longtime contender Demian Maia or even a wild card like Nick Diaz.
Cerrone had been hoping to throw his own name in with that group, after moving up to welterweight at the start of 2016. He’d been on an absolute tear, winning four fights in a row last year, most recently stopping perennial contender Matt Brown via third-round KO at UFC 206.
That bout went down on Dec. 10, and Cerrone made a quick turnaround to fight Masvidal in his hometown of Denver this weekend.
Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off.
Cerrone began the bout looking patient, scoring with low kicks and body kicks against the 32-year-old Florida native. Masvidal also scored with some hard punches, but Cerrone appeared to dictate the early action, countering well with kicks on the occasions that Masvidal was able to get off first.
During the final two minutes, however, Masvidal began to turn the tide. He warded off a takedown attempt from Cerrone and scored with a hard spinning backfist. Cerrone fired back with a head kick of his own, but Masvidal weathered it and started to find a home for his harder shots.
The potential game-changer came just before the bell, when Masvidal dropped Cerrone with a counter right-left combo and then poured on more shots as Cerrone fell to the canvas.
As referee Herb Dean stepped in at the end of the round, it appeared as if Cerrone may have been saved by the bell.
Masvidal started aggressively in the second, capitalizing on a still-dazed Cerrone. He scored with kicks and knees, ultimately dropping Cerrone again with an overhand right. Cerrone worked his way back to his feet, but could do nothing besides cover up against Masvidal’s punches until Dean stepped in to stop the fight just one minute into the second stanza.
The victory puts Masvidal on a three-fight winning streak and offers him the opportunity to finally become a real player in the UFC welterweight division.
Meanwhile, Cerrone goes back to the drawing board.
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