All Myles Jury has done since making his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in 2012 is win every single fight (6-0), but "Fury" lacked a signature win that would elevate his profile among fans as a serious Lightweight contender.
He had that opportunity tonight (Sat., Jan 3, 2015), taking on the red-hot and popular Donald Cerrone -- the No. 4-ranked fighter heading into MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this evening -- in the UFC 182 co-main event.
And his whiffed.
As usual, Cerrone came out and took charge, while Jury circled and looked to leverage the wrestling that got him to tonight. Jury shot for a takedown, which Cerrone defended cleverly by threatening with a rare omoplata submission. It was a chess match at this point, which Jury almost lost, as Cerrone torqued the shoulder and got him to give up position.
Jury ultimately escaped, but had to give up his back to do so. Cerrone immediately went with a body lock and angled for a more effective submission from behind. Trapped, Jury flailed to try and get Cerrone of his back, but Cerrone was relentless in his pursuit of a rear-naked choke.
He sunk in his forearm, and Jury appeared to be done, but he somehow broke the hold and survived the round.
Clearly one round behind, Jury kept the distance much closer to start the second. Cerrone, content to stand rather than roll, fired off kicks and looked for openings to land his punches. Midway through the round, not much action transpired, Jury perhaps a little gun-shy to shoot for a takedown.
He did land some solid kicks to the body, while Cerrone did the same, but with 30 seconds to go, the dull round mirrored more of a sparring match than a world-class co-main event.
Down perhaps two rounds to zero, Jury needed to lay it all on the line in round three to win. He landed a one-two combination early, but based on the body language, it appeared that Cerrone was more eager to finish the fight. Jury missed on a wild spinning backfist, as well as another takedown attempt moments later.
Halfway through the round, Cerrone landed a monster head kick that had Jury backpedaling. Cerrone cornered him up against the cage, but was able to avoid additional damage. Cerrone continued to pursue Jury, landing numerous leg kicks as Jury continued to retreat.
For whatever reason, Jury shot in for another takedown with about one minute remaining in the fight, but Cerrone nailed him with punches until "Fury" just let it go. Jury went for another takedown, failed, and Cerrone just wailed on him with kicks until the horn signaled the end of the bout.
Yes, once again, another decision, this one going to Cerrone (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27).
Now on a six-fight win streak, including victories over notables such as Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller and Edson Barboza, Dana White and Co. would be hard-pressed to deny "Cowboy" a 155-pound title shot sooner than later. He'd clearly have to wait behind Rafael dos Anjos (here's why), but perhaps an eliminator match against Khabib Nurmagomedov makes the most sense.
Time will tell.
For complete UFC 182 results, including play-by-play coverage of the entire 11-match pay-per-view (PPV) card, click here.