Two more World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) standouts, this time in the Lightweight division, took to the center of the Octagon TONIGHT (Jan. 26, 2013) when Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone met on the UFC on FOX 6 main card from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Pettis -- who defeated current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson to claim the WEC 155-pound title a few years ago -- has won back-to-back bouts since dropping his Octagon debut to Clay Guida back in June 2011.
Make it three straight.
Pettis meant business from the get-go, looking to draw first blood, landing a quick shot on Cerrone that signaled the start of the expected fireworks. "Cowboy" responded with a knee to the body that appeared to cause Pettis to pause and rethink his aggressive strategy.
But, not for too long.
The pair engaged shortly thereafter and "Showtime" appeared to find the soft spot of Cerrone's belly with one of his powerful kicks. Cerrone stepped back, attempted to catch his breath, but Pettis kept the pressure on and -- after a few shots to the head -- landed a shin to the tenderized liver of Cerrone and he dropped to the canvas in a heap.
Pettis added a few more shots to the defenseless Cerrone and the fight was stopped because he was simply unable to continue, marking the first time in his professional career that he was stopped via strikes.
And it took Pettis less than three minutes.
If that doesn't finally earn him championship consideration and a possible rematch with "Smooth," then there is something seriously wrong in the UFC universe.
For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC on FOX 6: "Johnson vs. Dodson" click here.