The Cowboy Rides In

By Raphael Garcia

When the World Extreme Cagefighting organization was merged with the UFC, Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis were expected to be the two main lightweight fighters who would gain the most from the merger. While Henderson has emerged as a potential contender to the lightweight championship crown, Donald Cerrone has quietly shown that he is another name from the WEC that can make a run at the title.

In two fights this year Cerrone has shown that his skill set as a mixed martial artist is steadily growing. In February he defeated Paul Kelly with a rear naked choke, and on Saturday he used superior striking to dominate Vagner Rocha. While both of these individuals may not be major names in the division, it was impressive how well Cerrone handled two opponents who are cut from very different molds. Cerrone has shown that he is able to go toe-to-toe with very solid strikers, or even finish fights on the mat.

With these two battles on the big stage under his belt, it’s time for Cerrone to take on some of the bigger names in the lightweight division. There are many different fighters in this weight class that would provide very tough tests for Cerrone, but could put Cerrone a victory away from emerging as a big name contender:

George Sotiropoulos
A short time ago, George Sotiropoulos was on the fast track towards a lightweight title shot. However his defeat at the hands of Denis Siver left many individuals wondering about his overall abilities, and about the deficiencies that were exposed. Even when he defeated Joe Lauzon he was picked apart during the standup aspects of that fight. It would be interesting to see how well Cerrone would do against Sotiropoulos, a fighter that he would be able to outclass on the feet, but whose grappling background could quite possibly give “The Cowboy” fits.

Mac Danzig
Mac Danzig is a fighter who was on the cusp of being released from the organization, but after his stunning knockout of Joe Stevenson at UFC 129 he quickly became a hot commodity once again. A faceoff between Cerrone and the Ultimate Fighter season six winner would be a hotly contested matchup, as both fighters would look to do battle standing. While each has a grappling background that can turn the tide of a matchup, both fighters have a penchant for keeping the battle standing to provide an exciting fight for fans.

Terry Etim
Englishman Terry Etim has yet to return to the UFC after the injury that forced him off of the UFC 118 card, but his first fight back should be against Donald Cerrone. Standing 6 feet tall, Cerrone has the height and reach advantage over the majority of his opponents, but Etim is one individual who would be able to look down at the “Cowboy.” Before his injury, Etim was known mostly as a striker who used his long reach to pick off his opponents, but he has taken up BJJ since his submission defeat at the hands of Rafael dos Anjos. Cerrone would most likely use striking to get in close, then try to push the bout to the floor where he would have an advantage. Terry Etim vs. Donald Cerrone is an interesting “growth matchup,” one that would help push both of these individuals up the 155 pound ladder.