UFC Fight Night Cerrone vs. Medeiros preview: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone desperate to snap losing streak

When the Cowboy walks into town this weekend, the whole of Austin, Texas, will be in their seats waiting for his shootout with Hawaiian scrapper, Yancy Medeiros.

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has become one of the most familiar and respected faces on the UFC roster. His never-say-die style and high adrenaline lifestyle make him a magnet for fan attention. Even when he isn’t on the card and shows up to watch, dressed like a character out of Tombstone, he receives just as much applause. In this main event fixture he takes on Medeiros, a team mate of UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway.

After a rough October night in Gdansk in his last outing, Cerrone is in need of a victory. This is the first time he’s slipped out of the top 10 of his chosen division in a very long time. Always contending at the highest level, each opponent that the UFC presents is tough, durable and dangerous.

Yancy Medeiros is all three of those things and proved it in his recent third round stoppage of another Cowboy, Alex Oliveira, at UFC 218. With a performance that earned both athletes ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses, Medeiros clung on in the early rounds, as Oliveira poured on the pressure.

Showing the grit and determination we’ve seen from many other Hawaiian fighters, like BJ Penn and Travis Browne, Medeiros rallied in the last round and finished a fatiguing opponent. He has now put together a three-fight winning streak, with second round victories over Erick Silva and Sean Spencer at UFC 212 and UFC 203 respectively.

This is without a doubt the biggest opportunity that Yancy has ever been presented with. Darren Till can attest to that; after stopping Cerrone in their recent tilt, Darren has found himself in all kinds of high profile fight conversations, all from gaining an impressive win over an active legend.

There comes a time when the old guard serve as a platform for the new generations of fighters, cutting their teeth at the upper echelons of the sport. Cerrone may be finding that those days are approaching him. With over 40 professional MMA fights, as well as numerous kickboxing matches, Cowboy has been in this game for a while. That can be a huge benefit though, if it’s used to its fullest. Medeiros showed that he can endure in hard fights. We also know that he takes a punch well. That is down to the fact that we’ve seen him take punches. Cowboy, with his elite fighting experience, has the wits to outsmart and defeat Medeiros.

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Cowboy has to use patience though, and let the finish present itself. All too often a fighter gives in to their reputation and fights in a way that exhilarates the fans. It’s addictive to us fighters, to hear that roar of the crowd after an exchange of blows.

The surge of energy is like a rollercoaster that carries you through those warlike face-offs, where you’re in each other’s faces testing for the weaker mind. That isn’t the only way of fighting though and, as many of the older heavyweights will tell you, knowing when to apply pressure and take risks has to be very calculated.

That fight experience that Cerrone brings makes those calculations much quicker. He is able to weigh up the risk and reward in any given circumstance, not by an educated guess, but by having already witnessed most experiences that can be had inside the Octagon. There are holes in Medeiros’ game. Holes that a striker like Cowboy can expose. The tenacity of Yancy and the commitment in his attack can be overwhelming though and his recent stoppage losses can affect Cerrone’s confidence. It all depends on how Cowboy has dealt with that last loss and what he did with that lesson between fights. The career of Donald Cerrone is far from over, but he does face a road back to the top 10.

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Before Cerrone dusts off his Fight Night hat and makes the walk, two top 10 heavyweights will throw down, as Derrick Lewis faces Marcin Tybura. Lewis, better known as “The Black Beast”, is a big, powerful individual with heavy hands. Tybura is a Polish submission fighter with the ability to knock out his foe with either hand or foot. Surprisingly athletic for a big man, Tybura will probably use endurance as a weapon against Lewis, who we’ve seen slow down. The benefit here though is that a co-main event is only three rounds, meaning Lewis can work fast for the finish.

I’d expect Marcin to tease a kickboxing match and then clinch and ground Lewis at his earliest opportunity. Not because he is out-matched on the feet, but because he will likely have a clear advantage on the ground. Lewis, although strong and stubborn, doesn’t have the slick grappling skills of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, Tybura. His top control was nightmarish for former UFC champion, Andrei Arlovski, when they met in Singapore last year. If Tybura can ground Lewis, he will at least slow “The Black Beast” down enough to nullify his power and make his movement predictable.

There is no doubt that Lewis can club the consciousness out of Tybura if he finds the opportunity. The longer this one goes, though, the more I have to lean towards the Polish standout, especially if its contested at grappling range.

Elsewhere on the card James Vick and Francisco Trinaldo square off in an important top 15 lightweight match, and Sage Northcutt will once again risk his very marketable brand as he looks to topple Frenchman, Thibault Gouti.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Medeiros live on BT Sport 2 from midnight GMT on Sunday, February 18, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from 11pm GMT