Donald Cerrone stops Alexander Hernandez in the second round
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone came back to the lightweight division with a serious statement that put everyone on notice. Cerrone defeated the young and talented Alexander “The Great” Hernandez via second-round TKO in devastating fashion.
Hernandez came out of his corner strong and aggressive, taking the center of the octagon and the role of the hammer instantly. Within the first few exchanges, Hernandez caught Cerrone with a heavy left hand that had him stunned and backing up. The fight appeared to be heading down a similar road like that of Cerrone’s encounter with Darren Till, where the young fierce up-and-comer steamrolls the old vet and makes a name for themselves, but Cerrone had a different plans.
Cowboy brought the fight to the mat, but was unable to keep Hernandez down in early round one. As the fight continued, Cerrone was able to withstand all of Hernandez best shots, and continued to push forward and land heavy punches of his own, as well as kicks and knees to the body that were draining the gas tank of Hernandez. Cowboy then hit Hernandez with a sharp right elbow, followed by a straight right hand, that opened a bad cut around Hernandez’s left eye with about two minutes remaining in round one.
Cerrone continued to ride the momentum wave into round two, landing heavy punches and kicks on Hernandez. Daniel Cormier predicted the future finish, saying “Cowboy should finish with the kick, now that he’s landing with the hands he’s gotta finish with the kick, and Hernandez might not see it because his eye is swelling a lot.”
This proved to be right on point and exactly as Cormier predicted, as Cerrone pushed forward and picked Hernandez apart until a fake right hand and a perfectly set up head kick sent Hernandez to the mat. There Cowboy slid into side control and rained heavy ground and pound until the ref was forced to stop the bout.
? Allow me to reintroduce myself ?
Lightweight division, @CowboyCerrone is BACK!! #UFCBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/w8ogcFcdd3
— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2019
Cerrone is now 2-0 since the birth of his son, and it seems evident that the inspiration and motivation it brings to Cowboy makes him an incredibly hard fighter to beat. His change in mindset has him setting a goal of becoming UFC champion, one that has never been on Cowboy’s radar before in his illustrious career.
With his chance on the mic post fight, Cerrone took full advantage of the moment coming off his spectacular win and called out Conor McGregor.
“I want top five next. I want Conor, if he’ll agree to it. I’m on a roll baby, here I come.”
That much deserved “red panty night” may very well come to fruition for Cowboy based off the response by McGregor.
For a fight like that Donald, I’ll fight you.
Congratulations.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 20, 2019
Cerrone has dreams of becoming a UFC champion, and wants a top five opponent next to continue on his road to gold, which he most certainly deserves. A matchup with #2 ranked McGregor makes a lot of sense for both parties involved, and an electric matchup that is sure to have all MMA fans excited for the potential scrap.