New Reign Begins in Orlando (UFC on FOX 17 Review)
The advent of this new era in sports has created athletes that are trained from the time they can walk in order to be great athletes.
It is widely believed that to be great at any chose sport the key is a passion and a focus on that sport that gives someone an edge.
It is an idea that any number of people can be talented at any sport but the ones who separate themselves are the ones who have that passion and focus.
This idea has led to so many athletes being trained in their sport for years and having a focus on that sport for the same amount of time.
It doesn’t allow for athletes to go into other sports and see what they might be able to learn from that sport.
Although Mixed Martial Arts is slightly different as there are multiple disciplines in one sport but the same thought has been applied.
Despite the mix of disciplines, when someone decides to be a fighter the idea is that it needs to become their lives in order to be great.
That is not necessarily the thought of Donald Cerrone though as he could be considered more of a weekend warrior than anyone else in the UFC.
It doesn’t mean he is not a great athlete in fact it could mean the exact opposite as Cerrone prefers to do any number of extreme sports in his spare time.
He is a fighter who prefers not to think about fighting and constantly train every single day of his life.
Instead he wakeboards, rock climbs, cliff jumps and anything else to get his adrenaline pumping outside of the octagon.
For many that type of lifestyle makes it pretty clear that he doesn’t have his head in the fights that he participates in throughout his career.
That is entirely the opposite though as his lifestyle helps him to stay interested and passionate about fighting as his original adrenaline rush.
There was a time when the UFC saw him building a great record and moving further up the lightweight division and they expressed concern over his lifestyle.
After all the UFC has been devastated over the last few years with major injuries that have cancelled cards or changed title fights at the last second.
It is one thing to be injured while training but to blow out a knee while wakeboarding before a fight was not something the UFC wanted to deal with, although it is worth noting that Cerrone has never dropped out of a fight due to injury in his UFC career.
Although they didn’t tell him to stop his extra-curricular activities it was clear that they wanted him to begin focusing more on his fights to stay focused and possibly become champion.
Cerrone gave in and attempted to focus on fighting as the only thing in his life and the results were not as many hoped or expected.
During that time he lost two of three fights and for a fighter that put together multiple wins streaks that was not going to work.
So Cerrone went back to his old ways of pursuing anything to get his adrenaline pumping and it has brought him back to the fighter he used to be when he joined the UFC.
After switching back to his old lifestyle he has put together the longest active winning streak in the UFC with eight straight wins.
In any other weight division that win streak would have been a part of a title reign as four to five fights usually earns a fighter a title shot.
Not so much in the lightweight division where the title has changed hands often and rematches are common.
Cerrone waited his time though and after starting 2015 with a win over Myles Jury then adding Benson Henderson and John Makdessi to the list he earned a shot for a title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
It was the second time this fight was scheduled but it remains a fight that people want to see as Nurmagomedov dropped out of the fight again due to another injury.
That left Cerrone as the true top contender for the title and he got that shot at UFC on FOX 17 against the new champion Rafael dos Anjos.
After beating Anthony Pettis, dos Anjos was ready to begin a reign in the most challenging division in the UFC and it all started against one of the most active and best fighters in the UFC.
It was supposed to be a challenge as Cerrone had worked so long to get his title fight and had looked so unstoppable that he was sure to give dos Anjos his toughest test so far.
That was not the case as it seemed like Cerrone came into the fight believing his own hype on a eight fight winning streak.
It was not a drawn out match as dos Anjos got to work early in showing Cerrone his skills in the stand-up game.
An early body kick sent Cerrone backwards and dos Anjos pounced and despite Cerrone’s best effort to fight back with a takedown it was all too much for the challenger.
A TKO kept the belt in the hands of dos Anjos as Cerrone was done and was done quickly as the champion got to work fast.
Cerrone is still one of the biggest names in the division and is sure to work his way back but the loss will set him back on his way to earning a title after losing two fights against dos Anjos.
For the champion it is an accomplishment that comes rarely in the division and the possibilities are endless for a challenger.
Conor McGregor has promised to pursue a dual championship in the featherweight and lightweight as he seems to be coming for dos Anjos while dos Anjos welcomed him after the fight. Meanwhile the list of contenders for the title seems endless.
Pettis is still in the mix while Tony Ferguson continues to climb and Khabib Nurmagomedov is still waiting after multiple injuries.
Cerrone is one of the more exciting fighters in the division but it is clear through his journey that the fight for the lightweight title is far from easy and nobody is in tune with that more than the champion himself.
The Sport Addiction 