Cerrone finishes Story in 2nd round of entertaining tilt
If Donald Cerrone keeps racking up wins at welterweight, he'll have no choice but to stick around.
"Cowboy" won his third straight fight at 170 pounds, taking out No. 9-ranked Rick Story with a barrage of strikes to get a TKO stoppage two minutes into the second round of their bout at UFC 202 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Despite being 3-0 in his new weight class, Cerrone told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview that he wants to go back down to lightweight to challenge UFC champion Eddie Alvarez. The two previously fought at UFC 178 two years ago, a unanimous decision win for Cerrone.
Cerrone certainly looked like a fighter worthy of calling his shots as he went toe-to-toe with the resilient Story, ending the fight with a pinpoint combination of strikes.
That combination was NASTY!!!!! #UFC202 @CowboyCerrone https://t.co/vIJmBpqyYX
— #UFC202 (@ufc) August 21, 2016
With his 18th UFC win, Cerrone moves into a tie for third place on the all-time wins list with Matt Hughes. They trail only Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping, each with 19.
Cerrone also became the first fighter to finish Story with strikes. It was the 12th win for Cerrone by knockout or submission.
Story had a three-fight win streak broken by the loss. He had not been finished since a submission loss to Demian Maia almost four years ago.