Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC Fight Night 126 blew the roof off Frank Erwin Arena last Sunday night (Feb. 18, 2018) in Austin, Texas.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Marcin Tybura, who was knocked out by Derrick Lewis in the co-main event in the evening (recap here). And Thiago Alves, who was beat down and eventually knocked out by newcomer by Curtis Millender.
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few hours removed from the show?
Yancy Medeiros.
An Octagon veteran for five years now, Yancy got his opportunity to headline a UFC event for the first time when he was pitted against longtime fan favorite Donald Cerrone in Austin.
And he looked good early, as he was clipping “Cowboy” with some good shots, seemingly finding his way as the fight went on and after every clean punch. But when facing an experienced vet like “Cowboy,” getting comfortable isn’t the best thing to do.
Cerrone eventually tagged Yancy with a clean right that had him on baby deer legs, dropping him to the canvas and finishing him off with some ground-and-pound to break his three-fight skid. For Yancy, the defeat snapped his three-fight win streak and stopped him from making the splash he needed in order to stay at the top of fight cards.
Yancy seems like a good all-around guy, even bringing Cerrone a gift at the pre-fight weigh-ins, as he handed his foe a cowboy hat as a sign of respect. Come fight night, Medieros and Cerrone were all love, too, as they embraced repeatedly inside the cage, once during instructions and another time during the actual bout.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with great sportsmanship, I found Kenny Florian’s comments on the post-fight show rather interesting, as “Ken Flo” suggested Yancy was a bit too friendly, and ultimately gave Cerrone the confidence he needed to let loose and score the eventual knockout.
Which is something Cerrone thrives on, as opposed as being met by resistance as was the case against Nate Diaz.
It’s something similar that happened to Matt Brown in his encounter with Cerrone. Up until fight night, “Immortal” played the part and refused to engage in anything friendly with Donald. But right before Cerrone scored a KO win over Brown, Matt eventually broke out of his shell and gave into his opponent’s friendly gestures.
Soon thereafter, it was lights out.
As Florian alluded to, “Cowboy” seems to need that, as he gets more confident and looser once his foe is open to keeping it smiles inside the Octagon. As Chris Weidman stated, Medeiros should’ve played the part of villain, not engage in friendly hugs and stick to the business at hand. In a sense, he may have given Cerrone a bit too much respect.
Whether or not that was the case, only Yancy knows.
Up next, I’d like to see Yancy face off against Dong Hyum Kim, who was beaten by Colby Convington in his last fight. They are separated by one spot in the rankings, so it makes sense in that aspect. Plus, it’s a good fight for them all the way around, and getting a top 10 foe for either man is out of the question for the time being.
For full UFC Fight Night 126: “Cowboy vs Medeiros” updated and play-by-play action click here.