'Cowboy' Cerrone gives Eddie Alvarez rude welcome to the UFC
Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone started slow against UFC newcomer Eddie Alvarez, but the veteran UFC fighter came back and battled his way to a unanimous decision victory in the co-main event at UFC 178 on Saturday night.
Fighting for the fourth time in 2014, Cerrone didn't care much about who he faced, going as far as saying he had never actually seen Alvarez compete before they stepped into the Octagon together.
He found out in a hurry that Alvarez is the real deal as the Philadelphia native got into the clinch and starting swinging right hands that all seemed to connect flush to the side of his head. The only thing Cerrone could tell himself to keep from tumbling over is 'not today' -- there was no way he was going to get knocked out in the first round.
As if the punches woke him up in some way, Cerrone came out stronger and more confident in round two as he started to let his leg kicks go, hurting Alvarez and slowing him down with each shot landed.
When the third round started, Cerrone completely took over, cracking Alvarez with knees from the clinches and eventually knocked his opponent down with a thunderous leg kick. Cerrone opted to go to the ground with Alvarez instead of letting him up, which potentially stopped him from getting the finish, but he got the win and that's all that matters.
Cerrone now moves to 4-0 in 2014 with hopes of fighting at least one more time before the year is over. It's hard to tell after a three-round war on Saturday if the UFC would even be willing to grant his wish, but anything is possible.
As for Alvarez, after years of waiting to finally get to the UFC he started strong and faded late, but definitely showed he could hang with one of the best lightweights in the world. Alvarez will undoubtedly be a fun addition to the UFC 155-pound division and now he's more motivated than ever after falling short in his debut.
