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It may be months away, but the UFC’s announcement that Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will face Justin Gaethje in Vancouver, in September, has already got me hyped.
These two have had some brutal, fan-pleasing fights in the past and I doubt they will pull any punches when they meet at UFC Fight Night 58.
Cerrone, 36, has already fought three times this year — going 2-1 with wins over Alexander Hernandez and Al Iaquinta, followed by a defeat to Tony Ferguson. In all three of these fights, as well as the one against Mike Perry, Cerrone won Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night, or both!
Cerrone has become the most entertaining fighter towards the tail end of his career, a re-birth that can be traced back to his loss in a championship bout against Rafael dos Anjos in December 2015. That fight was the culmination of a career that had already spanned almost 10 years and it hurt him, deeply.
His way to deal with that pain was to jump up a weight class and score three Performance of the Night bonuses in a row. He has quickly become the most active fighter on the roster and a true fan favorite. This is why, when he teased on Instagram that his next fight is one we would not want to miss, he had to be taken seriously.
Friday’s announcement, that Cerrone would face Gaethje, made by UFC president Dana White did not disappoint. Gaethje is one of the most violent men at 155lbs and no stranger to Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night honors. He has won one or the other of these recognitions in the last five fights, each of which has ended in a stoppage.
Gaethje entered the UFC undefeated in 2017, announcing his arrival with a TKO victory over top contender Michael Johnson. That win took his record to 18-0 and one win away from a title shot. However, that title shot did not materialize because he lost his next two fights, to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
Unlike Cerrone, 30-year-old Gaethje is coming off a win — a brutal first-round KO of top 10 contender Edson Barboza. Gaethje ends fights, and he looks to do that right out of the gate.
Bookmakers have already predicted this fight won't go the distance. But what excites me most is the prospect that this will be another Fight of the Night contender with something for both the blood-thirsty and the technically inclined among us.
Cerrone has superlative Muay Thai skills which are among the best in the MMA. Despite being a BJJ black belt, he's hardly ever seen on the ground. Instead, he demonstrates the movement and precision of a high-level kickboxer, using a switch kick as good as any Muay Thai fighter.
He’s not afraid to get hit, either, and we can expect him to be at his gritty best against Gaethje. The younger fighter is known to charge his opponents, looking to take two and give one almighty blow back. This led one regretful opponent, James Vick, to label him a “human punching bag,” shortly before Gaethje knocked him out in the first round.
Cerrone will have to make sure he doesn't get lulled into thinking he can endure Gaethje’s pressure. His opponent has heavy hands and Cowboy will have to win a tactical battle, picking his shots and moving in for the kill when the opportunity arises.
This is an important fight for both fighters. Gaethje, with his third win in a row, could easily come right back into title contention. For Cerrone, this could be his last chance to make a title run before retirement.
The two will go face to face at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, on a card that also has light heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Nikita Krylov headlining.
