Former No. 1-ranked Lightweight title challenger, Donald Cerrone, tonight (Sat., Aug. 20, 2016) looked to win his third straight bout inside that Octagon at his new Welterweight home, colliding with the wrestle-heavy Rick Story on UFC 202's pay-per-view (PPV) main card inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And he has seemingly never looked sharper, putting together a ridiculous three-punch combination, which he followed with a head kick, en route to an impressive second round stoppage.
Story came out aggressive, looking to bang it out, but Cerrone -- who normally loves to trade leather -- flipped the script and scored an early takedown on his wrestling-minded opponent. "Cowboy," though, was unable to do anything meaningful with the position and returned to his feet, only for Story to mash him up against the fence and land a takedown of his own. Cerrone flirted with a nice submission attempt off his back, an omoplata and then an armbar, before giving up and rolling to his belly as Story boxed his ears from behind. Cerrone soon escaped and began to work his Muay Thai, drilling Story's belly with an assortment of straight kicks to the gut and low kicks. Cerrone was able to find an opening as the first round came to a close, drilling story with several combinations that appeared to hurt Story a little bit before heading back to their corners for a quick blow.
To start the second, Story continued to push the pace, attempting two takedowns early that Cerrone was having no part of. On the break, Cerrone landed a nice quick flurry of hooks as Story quickly retreated. Midway through the third frame, Cerrone put together a ridiculously dynamic combination -- left jab, body blow and left cross -- that he finished with a kick to the head as Story was doubled over. Story had enough at that point, turning his back to Cerrone, who was still all over him, landing hard shots as "Horror" looked for a way out. And that's exactly what referee Herb Dean did, stepping in saving Story from additional abuse.
Cerrone looked terribly sharp tonight. He is well on his way to cracking the Welterweight Top 10 after that performance; however, he told Joe Rogan after his latest 170-pound win that he wants to rematch -- and defeat again -- Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez next at UFC 205 later this year.
Why the hell not?
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