Donald Cerrone may not have got the victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 249, but ‘Cowboy’ enhanced his reputation as a legend of the sport.
The Colorado-native looked as stunned as his opponent as the judges’ scorecards were read out by Bruce Buffer to confirm his unanimous decision loss.
Four months since his convincing defeat to Conor McGregor at UFC 246, the 37-year-old felt hard done by in his rematch with ‘Showtime’ as he made the walk in front of an empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida and delivered a clinical performance.
But the embrace the pair shared at the end of the second round really cemented his reputation as a UFC legend.
After a wild exchange with the former lightweight champion, Cerrone turned and shouted to his opponent and said ‘f*** yeah’ before pulling him in for an embrace.
Fans flocked to Twitter to praise the UFC veteran, despite his fourth consecutive loss in MMA.
The striking on display by both men was simply world class and belied the billing of a preliminary card fight.
But with such a stacked card for the return of live sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, fans were treated to this rematch of the 2013 classic far earlier in the night.
Both men landed significant strikes right until the final bell, with Cowboy landing a trademark high kick right to the chin of Pettis.
Despite his strong showing, it was not enough for the sparsely spread judges at ringside in the VyStars Arena in Jacksonville.
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