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'Cowboy' Cerrone becomes first fighter to finish Patrick Cote by strikes
It looks like Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone's move to welterweight was a good idea after he became the first fighter to finish Patrick Cote by strikes with a vicious third-round TKO on Saturday in the UFC Fight Night co-main event from Ottawa.
Cerrone moved to 170 pounds for his previous fight, which he finished by submission, and this time around he was looking for another knockout to add to his record.
It was clear as soon as the fight started that Cerrone was coming out of the gates much quicker than usual, as he swooped in for a takedown before the fighters even had a chance to exchange punches.
Cerrone's tactical game plan nearly earned him a finish in the first round after he transitioned from a takedown to the mount to nearly wrapping up a rear naked choke on Cote.
Cote survived, but it was all downhill from there as he started eating a steady diet of kicks that nearly buckled his lead leg.
The punishment continued with Cerrone uncorking a huge left hand that sent Cote crashing to the mat in the second round. Cote is known for having an incredibly durable chin, but it was tested time and time again during this battle.
"Cowboy" continued his offensive barrage in the third round with Cote backing up and searching for some kind of answer after taking so much damage through the first 10 minutes.
Finally, Cerrone uncorked another looping punch that put Cote down and this time the veteran wasn't getting back up again. "Cowboy" jumped on top and started blasting away with right hand after right hand that forced referee Yves Lavigne to stop the fight.
Through more than 30 professional fights, Cote never had been finished with strikes, but Cerrone got the job done in the third round to move to 2-0 as a welterweight in the UFC.
It didn't take long after the bout was over for Cerrone to immediately turn his attention to what's next because he seems to be going for the record for the most fights in UFC history.
"All I know, there's 36 fights at UFC 200, I think I could get on one of those," Cerrone said with a smile.
Whether Cerrone's next fight is at lightweight or welterweight, it certainly seems like he's ready to make a big impact in either division.
