It came down to who was mentally ready Saturday night. Masvidal didn't make any mistakes in the fight and looked physically strong at 170 pounds -- maybe it was that he was more "hungry" or tired of being overlooked in the lightweight division. Masvidal wanted to go out and finish Cerrone, especially because the fight was taking place in "Cowboy's" hometown and he's been on the losing end of more than one split decision throughout his UFC career. In the other hand, Donald thought Jorge should have been more grateful for the opportunity to get in the octagon with him.
Now Jorge is in prime position to negotiate more fights to get higher up in the rankings and a title shot. Masvidal had been irritated with "Cowboy" for a long time and kept calling him out -- In the past, "Gamebred" didn’t get to fight some top ranked opponents being the UFC gave them to Cerrone.
Former backyard brawler and street fighter had a lot of resentment
Masvidal hasn’t been very lucky in the UFC and has seen ups and downs in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He really enjoys fighting and had two straight wins against Ross Pearson and a bizarre TKO over Jake Ellenberger before Saturday night's co-main event. In the past, he’s also had some heartbreaking split decision, and at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, Ellenberger got his toe stuck in between the fence -- Jorge was very frustrated he lost $50,000 and thought he should have gotten the money.
So for this matchup, he studied Donald's previous fights and was ready for their weekend showdown. "Gamebred" declared that his fight with "Cowboy" hasn't been the toughest test in his career.
Cerrone appeared to have no game plan against Masvidal
After the first knock-down by Masvidal, Cerrone wasn’t able to recover and "Gamebred" took advantage.
Donald is one of the most well-liked fighters in the UFC and known for his easy-going attitude -- he avoids violent stare downs and getting into "trash talk" with his opponents. He doesn't like to sit around and think about who to fight next and was on a red-hot, winning streak. Cerrone was No. 5 in the UFC's official welterweight rankings according to MMA Fighting after moving up to 170 pounds in February 2016, and Cerrone rapidly got a knockout list against Patrick Cote, Rick Story, and Matt Brown.
Now that his run at the title has been derailed, What's "Cowboy's" next move.
Jorge has been having a really hard time finding his place in the lightweight division. However, with technically striking and Dominating Cerrone at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, there are no question fans, and the UFC organization know what Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal is all about now.
