Tag: UFC Denver

Cowboy: Jorge Masvidal Is Just Another Name On My List

Donald Cerrone is ready for a scrap tomorrow night (Sat., January 28, 2017) in Denver. Cowboy will be taking on Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 23 in front of a hometown crowd in Colorado. With a win over ‘Gamebred’, who is currently on a two-fight win streak, Cowboy could potentially

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Donald Cerrone is ready for a scrap tomorrow night (Sat., January 28, 2017) in Denver.

Cowboy will be taking on Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 23 in front of a hometown crowd in Colorado. With a win over ‘Gamebred’, who is currently on a two-fight win streak, Cowboy could potentially jump into the welterweight title picture.

As for Masvidal, this fight is an opportunity to pay his adversary back for taking food off his plate after having robbed him of two opponents last year. Cerrone got the opportunity to respond to Masvidal’s comments during a recent appearance on the Fight Society podcast (quotes via FOX Sports), saying he found his opponent’s comments laughable:

“I laughed at all of it. It’s funny,” Cerrone said. “It is what it is. He’s going to have to see me in the ring. I really don’t know much about the guy to be honest with you. I don’t really have an opinion.”

Masvidal’s last Octagon outing saw him take home a controversial first-round TKO win over Jake Ellenberger after ‘The Juggernaut’s’ toe got caught in the cage. Given that 17 of Masvidal’s 31 career wins have come by way of decision, Cerrone isn’t really too concerned about his opponent coming out looking for a finish – but he can’t say the same about himself:

“We’ll see what kind of feedback we get from Jorge on that. He’s not really a finisher fighter guy. His last fight he accidentally won and that’s really the only fight I’ve seen of him. He’s really a decision fighter guy. He’s not really after the kill ever. We’ll see what Jorge shows up,” Cerrone said.

“He’s like split decision guy. It’s whatever. I finish mother (expletive). That’s how I fight. I’ve always go out for a finish and I’m looking to finish him, too. Just put him another check on the (expletive) list of people I’m running through.”

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Leading up to tomorrow’s contest, Masvidal has been unleashing a slew of trash-talk towards his opponent, claiming he will easily add another notch to his career win column come fight night.

These words seem to have fired Cowboy up even more, who claimed he’ll be ready to stand and bang if Masvidal is ready to go to war in the center of the cage:

“(Let’s see) if he’s really all the (expletive) big bad ass talk that he says he is and comes rip my (expletive) head off. Tell that (expletive) I’ll see him January 28,” Cerrone said.

“If he wants to (expletive) come hard at me, I’ll be ready.”

Cowboy has suddenly emerged as one of the welterweight division’s finest combatants based on his early success, and while the former lightweight title challenger is looking to yet again try his hand for UFC gold, ‘Gamebred’ has a tremendous opportunity to burst onto the scene as a premier contender at 170 pounds himself.

Who are you picking to secure a huge win in Denver tomorrow night?

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Jorge Masvidal Furious At Cowboy For “Stealing His Food”

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone has been on quite the tear since making the jump up in weight to 170 pounds, winning all four of his welterweight bouts via finish. Now “Cowboy” will take on another tough test in the UFC’s welterweight division when he faces No. 12-ranked Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of

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Former UFC lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone has been on quite the tear since making the jump up in weight to 170 pounds, winning all four of his welterweight bouts via finish.

Now “Cowboy” will take on another tough test in the UFC’s welterweight division when he faces No. 12-ranked Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 23 this Saturday night (January 28, 2017). Masvidal called out Cerrone following his first-round TKO win over Jake Ellenberger last month, and Cowboy was happy to oblige.

Masvidal recently joined the Fight Society podcast (via FOX Sports) to discuss his upcoming contest with Cerrone, claiming he’s just happy to have finally landed a top 10 opponent after many obstacles:

“It’s just a dude with a number by (his name) is what I’ve been gunning for. I’ve had so many close calls of getting top 10 dudes, both of us signing bout agreements and somehow the fight doesn’t go down,” Masvidal said. “That’s happened four times that I’ve signed a bout agreement against a top 10 dude.

“They sign the bout agreement, they put out the posters, the UFC announces the fight coming soon, gives us the date, the arena, buy the tickets online — for some reason the fight doesn’t come to fruition. It’s (expletive) nuts.”

‘Gamebred’ stated that Cerrone has taken ‘food from my plate’ on two different instances, as fighters who were scheduled to throw down with him were pulled to fight Cowboy instead at a different time. One most recent example of this came after Matt Brown was originally scheduled to meet Masvidal but ‘Immortal’ was then moved to the UFC 206 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event against Cowboy, something that has obviously gotten Masvial fired up for this weekend:

“I feel like I’m going to break his face. I’m telling you I have a lot of ill will towards him for different reasons,” Masvidal explained. “He’s taken literally food from my plate on two different occasions of those fights that got pulled from me. They pulled fighters from me who were already signed and ready to fight me and I was ready to fight them and they give it to him.

“I know it’s not him intentionally doing that but somebody’s got to pay. That somebody’s name is “Cowboy”. He’s got to pay with interest.”

Mandatory Credit: Tracy Lee for USA TODAY Sports

Given that the fight will take place in Cerrone’s backyard of Denver, Colorado, Masvidal said he knows he needs to finish the fight as he doesn’t want to go to the judges’ scorecards in enemy territory:

“I’m not going to out-point this dude. I know I’m not going to win a decision in Denver, this (expletive) white dude from Denver. It’s not going to happen,” Masvidal said. “I don’t win decisions in Florida. It’s not going to happen, I’m going to beat this guy in his own home state.

“So I’m going to go in there and execute him so he doesn’t have to worry about the split decisions on this one, I promise you.”

When they share the Octagon this weekend, Masvidal believes his adversary will be searching for a way out once the contest gets difficult, something he claims Cerrone frequently does but he has never done in his fighting career:

“I don’t see him at any point having the lead in the fight. I just see him like he’s done in the past saying ‘you know what maybe it’s not my day today and look for a way out’,” Masvidal said. “You can look at all my losses, don’t go to my wins, just go to my losses and look at my eyes and see if I’ve ever found a way out of a fight. If I ever even thought to tap or let me not engage and just be real defensive and try to survive. That’s never happened in my career.

“You can see in his fights where it’s happened multiple times. So that’s how I feel.”

Come fight night, Masvidal will finally get the opportunity to unleash all his pent-up anger towards Cowboy, and he closed by saying he plans to send his opponent to the hospital in a helicopter:

“To tell you the truth, I wish the fight was right now. I just want to break this guy’s (expletive) face,” Masvidal said. “This is not a sparring match. You’re not going to see me touching gloves.

“You’re going to see me getting after it and either I’ll be leaving to the hospital in an ambulance or he’ll be leaving to the ambulance in a helicopter because it’s going to be a (expletive) fight. I’m coming to fight and I’m coming to break his (expletive) face.”

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Donald Cerrone: I’ll Whip Masvidal’s Ass Then Call Out Woodley

For the first time in his 23-fight UFC career, Donald Cerrone fights in front of a home crowd this weekend. Coming in to his UFC on FOX 23 clash with Jorge Masvidal on four straight wins, ‘Cowboy’ could find himself looking at a title shot in a second division if victorious. Previously competing at lightweight

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For the first time in his 23-fight UFC career, Donald Cerrone fights in front of a home crowd this weekend. Coming in to his UFC on FOX 23 clash with Jorge Masvidal on four straight wins, ‘Cowboy’ could find himself looking at a title shot in a second division if victorious. Previously competing at lightweight for nine years, Cerrone has arguably looked better at 170 pounds. Knocking out Matt Brown in his last fight at UFC 206, the Jackson Wink MMA product looked razor-sharp. With a record-setting 18 post-fight bonuses behind him, ‘Cowboy’ is not only among the most exciting, but also one of the busiest fighters on the roster.

Coming from a street fighting background, Masvidal will no doubt come to fight, and hard. Against the man known for knocking out the grittiest and toughest on offer, ‘Gamebred’ has a serious test in Cerrone. With all the pressure and eyes on him in front of a partisan crowd, Cerrone is typically relaxed in his latest interview.

Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboy’s Plans

After taking out Masvidal, Cerrone says he’ll probably call out Tyron Woodley in the octagon. Here’s what ‘Cowboy’ said about ‘Gamebred’ and his immediate fighting future via MMAJunkie.com:

“I’m going to go whip Masvidal’s ass, call out one of these top contenders or call out (welterweight champion Tyron) Woodley, and say, ‘Let’s dance, baby!’” I’m going to go get this belt in 2017. I’m coming. It’s mine. We’re just getting warmed up.”

“The title probably means more to my team than it does to me,” Cerrone said. “I used to think, ‘I’m here to fight.’ I didn’t have the same mentality that I do now. I feel a little more mature in the game, a little different.”

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Home Town

“I don’t even know if I’ve ever seen Masvidal fight,” Cerrone said. “I think he’s like a boxer, wrestler. Pretty good jiu-jitsu. Sounds like he’s pretty good at striking. I don’t know how his wrestling is. I’m going to bet I’m better at all three.”

“I’m a winner; that’s what I like to do,” Cerrone said. “But at home in front of everybody? I ain’t losing. No way, no how. I’m coming hard. I can’t wait.”

Although the UFC welterweight title is tied up until UFC 209, Cerrone and Masvidal have everything to play for. Who will emerge victorious in Denver this weekend?

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UFC Denver: Road To The Octagon

UFC on FOX 23 is live this weekend (Saturday, January 28, 2017) from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, and the card the UFC has in store for us is quite a barn burner. Kicking off the main card is a featherweight contest between two of the 145-pound division’s most exciting combatants, when Alex Caceres takes

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UFC on FOX 23 is live this weekend (Saturday, January 28, 2017) from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, and the card the UFC has in store for us is quite a barn burner.

Kicking off the main card is a featherweight contest between two of the 145-pound division’s most exciting combatants, when Alex Caceres takes on Jason Knight. ‘Bruce Leroy’ comes off of a split decision loss to fast-rising star Yair Rodriguez, while ‘The Kid’ Knight is looking to make a statement in the UFC with his third straight win.

Next up features a heavyweight contest of great proportions, as No. 7-ranked former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski takes on the up-and-coming No. 10-ranked Francis Ngannou. Ngannou is currently on a nine-fight win streak in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, as he continues to impress UFC fans with four-straight finishes now inside the Octagon.

In our co-main event hometown hero and fan-favorite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone meets Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight scrap that is sure to bring the house down. Cerrone looks to propel himself into title contention with an emphatic statement in Denver, while Masvidal looks for what would be the biggest win of his career against ‘Cowboy’.

Finally the main event of the evening presents a clash of female bantamweights that could very well present the next challenger to current 135-pound champ Amanda Nunes’ throne, as No. 1-ranked Valentina Shevchenko meets No. 2-ranked Julianna Pena.

You can check out the UFC’s full Fight Night Denver: Road To The Octagon episode here below:

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Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal Stats & Facts

Returning to the place where his MMA career started, Donald Cerrone faces Jorge Masvidal in Denver, Colorado. ‘Gamebred’ is a dangerous fight for anyone in the 170-pound division, but ‘Cowboy’ is on a red-hot streak. Moving up to 170 pounds in February 2016, Cerrone rapidly built up a four-fight/finish spree. Trademark knockouts against Patrick Cote,

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Returning to the place where his MMA career started, Donald Cerrone faces Jorge Masvidal in Denver, Colorado. ‘Gamebred’ is a dangerous fight for anyone in the 170-pound division, but ‘Cowboy’ is on a red-hot streak. Moving up to 170 pounds in February 2016, Cerrone rapidly built up a four-fight/finish spree. Trademark knockouts against Patrick Cote, Rick Story and Matt Brown highlighted a great year for ‘Cowboy.’

Recent form has been solid for Masvidal, who rides two straight wins in to UFC on FOX 23. Taking a decision against Ross Pearson and a bizarre TKO over Jake Ellenberger, Masvidal will face the toughest test of his recent career in ‘Cowboy.’ Let’s take a look at some stats and facts involving the UFC Denver co-main event duo.

Stats we’ll be looking at:

SLpM – Significant Strikes Landed per Minute Str. Acc. Significant Striking Accuracy

SApM – Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute Str. Def. – Significant Strike Defence (the % of opponents strikes that did not land)

TD Avg. – Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes TD Acc. – Takedown Accuracy

TD Def. – Takedown Defense (the % of opponents TD attempts that did not land) Sub. Avg. – Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Donald Cerrone

SLpM: 4.16 TD Avg.: 1.38  HEIGHT: 6′ 1″ REACH: 73″

TD Acc.: 42% TD Def.: 70% RECORD: 32-7-(1) (16 KO 8 SUB)

Sub. Avg.: 1.7 Str. Acc.: 47% RANKS: BJJ/Gaidojutsu black belt

SApM: 3.90 Str. Def: 54% TEAM: Jackson Wink MMA Academy

Although he’s only been fighting at welterweight for a year, Donald Cerrone already debuts as a top 10 stats leader. Just one place behind Tyron Woodley, Cerrone is currently ranked 10 for knockdowns scored in the division. Four fights in to his 170-pound career, ‘Cowboy’ has landed six knockdowns. Cerrone has a great work rate as we see from his 4.16 SLpM, but he absorbs almost as many in doing so. Against a puncher like Masvidal, that might be ill-advised.

Cerrone’s takedown defense is excellent, and although he only attempts 1.7 subs per three rounds, he has razor-sharp Jiu Jitsu. At lightweight, Cerrone is ranked third for significant strikes landed and knockdowns landed in divisional history. Among active fighters, he is number two in both departments, and ranks in the top 10 for total strikes landed at 155 pounds.

Mandatory Credit: Tracy Lee for USA TODAY Sports

Jorge Masvidal

SLpM: 4.20 Str. Acc.: 46% HEIGHT: 5′ 11″ REACH: 74″

SApM: 2.89 Str. Def: 69% RECORD: 31-11 (12 KO 2 SUB)

TD Avg.: 1.98 TD Acc.: 61% RANKS: Black belt in freestyle fighting system

TD Def.: 79% Sub. Avg.: 0.5 TEAM: American Top Team

Similar to his opponent in Denver, Jorge Masvidal has fought both at lightweight and welterweight. In terms of striking, he is also almost identical to ‘Cowboy’ on a statistical level. Masvidal absorbs less significant strikes per minute with better defense, and actually is ever so slightly more active in strikes landed per minute. Among active UFC welterweights, the former street fighter is top 10 with strikes landed per minute and also a 1.48 strike differential.

There’s not much to say of either man’s grappling, apart from they are seldom taken down. Masvidal attempts less than one submission per 15 minutes fought, so expect a technical striking battle in this 170-pound co-main event.

UFC on FOX 23 Fight Card

Event: UFC on FOX 23: “Shevchenko vs. Pena”
Date: Sat., Jan. 28, 2017, on FOX
Location: Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado

UFC on FOX 23 Main Event:

135 lbs.: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Pena

FOX Main Card  UFC Fight Pass):

170 lbs.: Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal

265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Francis Ngannou

135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight

FOX Sports 1

135 lbs.: Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling

185 lbs.: Sam Alvey vs. Nate Marquardt

185 lbs.: Eric Spicely vs. Alessio Di Chirico

155 lbs.: J.C. Cottrell vs. Jason Gonzalez

125 lbs.: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton

135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight

205 lbs.: Henrique da Silva vs. Jordan Johnson

155 lbs.: Li Jingliang vs. Bobby Nash

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

205 lbs.: Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. John Philipps

125 lbs.: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton

Stats harvested from FightMetric.com

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Pivotal Bantamweight Bout Slated For UFC Denver Main Event

A pivotal fight in the UFC women’s bantamweight division has been confirmed, as the promotion has officially announced that No. 2-ranked Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko will face off with with No. 3-ranked Julianna “Venezuelan Vixen” Pena in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 28, 2016 from Denver, Colorado. Shevchenko has won

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A pivotal fight in the UFC women’s bantamweight division has been confirmed, as the promotion has officially announced that No. 2-ranked Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko will face off with with No. 3-ranked Julianna “Venezuelan Vixen” Pena in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 28, 2016 from Denver, Colorado.

Shevchenko has won six of her last seven bouts and is coming off of the most impressive victory of her career, which was a dominant unanimous decision victory over ex-champion Holly Holm last July. “Bullet” is 2-1 inside the Octagon with her only loss under the promotional banner coming against reigning 135-pound champ Amanda Nunes.

Pena, on the other hand, is a former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner and she’s put together quite the impressive resume, as she currently sits at 4-0 in the UFC. Her most recent victories have come over notable names Jessica Eye and former title challenger Cat Zingano.

Pena has been campaigning hard for a title shot and the winner of this bout will likely take on the winner of Dec. 30’s title fight between Nunes and former longtime champion Ronda Rousey.

Tickets for UFC Denver are on sale now.

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