Watch: Masvidal defeats Cerrone by TKO (twice) in co-main event

Finishing Donald Cerrone once is a tall task for any fighter. Jorge Masvidal had to do it twice Saturday.

After a chaotic end to the first round in which it looked like Masvidal knocked Cerrone out cold, "Gamebred" sealed the deal with another flurry of strikes to earn a TKO victory in the second round of the UFC on FOX 23 welterweight co-main event in Denver.

The upset victory was the biggest of Masvidal's UFC career. For years, he had been calling for a top-five opponent, and he's now likely to vault up the charts with this finish of the No. 5-ranked Cerrone. Masvidal has now won three straight - his first win streak of that length since September 2014.

It was almost not to be, though, as the opening round closed in bizarre fashion when it appeared Cerrone was shut down completely by a combination from Masvidal. Despite Cerrone barely moving, referee Herb Dean chose to acknowledge the round-ending bell as opposed to waving the fight off.

Any further controversy was averted when Masvidal kept up the pressure to put Cerrone away with strikes a minute into the second round.

Cerrone, who was raised in Denver, lost for the first time in five contests since moving up to welterweight last February. It's also his first TKO loss since being defeated by then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 17. This was Cerrone's second fight in 30 days.