Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone downs Yancy Medeiros in the opening round
AMERICAN welterweight fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone trumpeted his return to winning in a grand way, making short work of opponent Yancy Medeiros via a technical knockout in the opening round of their headliner at “UFC Fight Night 126” yesterday in Austin, Texas.
Lost in his previous three fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) entering the match, Mr. Cerrone (33-10) halted his longest career losing streak by stepping up and taking the challenge by Mr. Medeiros (15-5) head-on in a competitive, albeit short, fight held at Frank Erwin Center.
The protagonists immediately got it going in the opening round, trading solid blows and kicks to the body.
Mr. Cerrone though would find an opening as the round reached the windup.
After breaking from a tie-up with a minute left, Mr. Cerrone caught his opponent with a big right hand.
He got Mr. Medeiros once again moments later which proved to be the start of the end as the latter dropped to the canvas and received more punches from Mr. Cerrone before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight with 4:58 left in the round.
The win was the first for Mr. Cerrone since December 2016 while Mr. Medeiros saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end.
“A finish was what I and Yancy were going for. And I did just that,” said Mr. Cerrone after the fight.
Meanwhile in the co-main event, heavyweight Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis knocked out Marcin “Tybur” Tybura in the third round to get back on the winning track as well.
Mr. Lewis (19-5) was all over Mr. Tybura (16-4) in the third round, connecting with telling blows that eventually took a toll on the latter.
A crisp combination by Mr. Lewis sent Mr. Tybura down the mat one last time, and seconds later the referee stopped the contest.
“That is the way I fight, That is the way I do things,” said Mr. Lewis after, referring to the power he showed to finish off things.
In other fights at UFC Fight Night 126: Cowboy vs. Medeiros, lightweight James Vick beat Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28), welterweight Curtis Millender defeated Thiago Alves by knockout (knee) in the second round, featherweight Brandon Davis downed Steven Peterson by UD (30-27, 29-28 and 30-26), and lightweight Sage Northcutt beat Thibault Gouti by UD (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28).
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —