Yahoo Sports UFC 187 Results: Donald Cerrone Smashes John Makdessi's Jaw, Stakes Claim to Title Shot
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was supposed to be fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 187 on Saturday night. Their fight was supposed to be a No. 1 contenders bout to try and earn the next shot at UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Nurmagomedov, however, fell out of the fight due to injury, so John Makdessi stepped up for the opportunity of his career to try and derail Cerrone’s seven-fight winning streak.
Before the fight, Makdessi promised he would stand toe-to-toe with Cerrone, and he did. Unfortunately for “the Bull,” going toe-to-toe with “the Cowboy” would excite the crowd, but it would also be his downfall.
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Uncharacteristically, Cerrone started relatively quickly against Makdessi, immediately launching low kicks, picking apart the Canadian fighter’s lead leg, and launching the occasional head kick. Midway through the opening frame, Makdessi started to find his rhythm and landed several good shots to the body, but neither fighter mounted significant damage.
Cowboy opened the second stanza by upping the pace, blitzing more with his punches, which set up an even more aggressive kicking attack.
He continued to chop at Makdessi’s legs, slowing him down and setting up more frequent kicks to the head. With Cowboy’s jab now landing with greater frequency as the round wore on, Makdessi found himself the back foot.
Cowboy pressed, landed a left inside leg kick and then immediately launched the left kick to the head, landing flush across Makdessi’s jaw. Makdessi immediately backed away, throwing his hands up in a timeout type of motion.
The referee stepped in and a few seconds later waved off the fight.
Cerrone went back to his corner, shrugging, not quite sure why the fight ended.
It was soon clear, however, that Makdessi felt his jaw break when Cerrone landed his final head kick, and made the smart choice to quit, so that he might fight another day.
Cerrone gave Makdessi his due after the fight, saying that he knew it wouldn’t be an easy fight even though the Canadian was a late replacement for Nurmagomedov.
“You’re in the UFC. You’re one of the baddest dudes around. He punches hard,” said Cerrone, who should now be in line for the title shot, especially with Nurmagomedov sidelined.
Cerrone wouldn’t commit to not fighting again before a title shot, but certainly feels that with eight consecutive victories, it’s his time, and he’ll have the belt one way or another.
“I never paint myself into a corner. I’m gonna keep fighting and I might get this title by default pretty soon, huh?”
