UFC Fight Night 83: Donald Cerrone proves he's the real 'Cowboy' against Alex Oliveira

One of UFC's most active fighters needed just one round to dispatch his namesake

UFC lightweight Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone (Getty Images)

Last night it was 'Cowboy' vs 'Cowboy' in Pittsburgh when Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone took on Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira in the main event at UFC Fight Night 83. The rest of the fight card may have lacked star power names but it ultimately proved to be an entertaining night of action with some highlight reel knockouts and some great performances up and down the card.

Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone vs Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira

This was Cerrone's first fight back in the Octagon since his defeat to Rafael dos Anjos back in December and for the first time ever he was stepping up a weight division to fight at 170lbs. Cerrone was originally booked to face Tim Means however, just two weeks before the fight Means was found to have failed a drug test which set up the 'Cowboy' vs 'Cowboy' showdown Brazilian Alex Oliveira stepping in.

Despite the late notice, the fight was still booked for five rounds though it was ultimately only the one that was required. As predicted the Brazilian came out swinging and took control in the first minute, backing Cerrone against the cage. It unfortunately all went downhill from there for Oliveira as Cerrone managed to break free and score a takedown by putting the Brazilian on his back.

After working his way into mount, Cerrone rolled through from top to bottom position, swinging his left leg around the back of the head of Oliveira and sinking in a slick triangle choke, forcing the Brazilian to tap and give Cerrone his debut victory at 170lbs.

Speaking to Jon Anik in the Octagon afterwards, Cerrone praised his opponent for stepping up on short notice and reiterated his desire to stay one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster saying: "If you wanna get hurt, I know a guy."

Derek Brunson vs Roan Carneiro

In the co-main event of the evening, Derek Brunson and Roan Carneiro did battle in a fight featuring two of the UFC's top 15 middleweights.

The fight started very tentatively with both fighters failing to find their range on the feet for the opening 2 minutes. The telling part of the fight came when Carneiro appeared to slip on the mat. Brunson took advantage of his misstep and swarmed on him, raining down ground and pound that Carneiro did little to defend. After a barrage of unanswered strikes, the referee called a stop to the fight giving Brunson a quick fire TKO victory.

Augusto Mendes vs. Cody Garbrandt

Augusto Mendes came in to face Cody Garbrandt following the late notice pull out of John Lineker who went down with Dengue Fever just 7 days earlier. The bout took place at a catchweight of 142lbs but this didn't faze the usual 135lbs fighter Garbrandt who put on an impressive show for his home crowd.

As expected, Garbrandt had a clear advantage over the Jiu Jitsu master on the feet and after a brief feeling out period, he showed his superiority landing a flurry of strikes, dropping him to the mat and forcing the referee to step in and call the fight at 4 minutes and 18 seconds.

Dennis Bermudez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

In a battle of two experienced featherweights, Dennis Bermudez and Tatsuya Kawajiri faced each other in a bout that did little to impress the Pittsburgh crowd. From the first bell Kawajiri looked to take Bermudez down and he successfully managed to grind the fight down to a slow pace in a first round where little to no action happened.

In rounds two and three, Bermudez took control of the grappling exchanges and landed some decent strikes to simply outwork the Japanese veteran and take a unanimous decision 29-28 on all three judges scorecards in a largely forgettable affair.

Chris Camozzi vs. Joe Riggs

Having made his first UFC appearance back in 2004, Joe 'Diesel' Riggs stepped into the Octagon for the 59th time in his career taking on Chris Camozzi at middleweight.

Unfortunately for the veteran, he was totally overwhelmed by Camozzi who dispatched him in just 26 seconds after planting him with a straight right and then a barrage of knees that forced the referee to step in and stop the fight. The defeat could spell the end for Riggs' career in the UFC and it was confirmed shortly afterwards that he suffered a broken forearm as result of the powerful knees he took whilst trying to defend himself.

Best of the rest ...

Also on the undercard, there were impressive wins for Sean Strickland, James Krause and Oluwale Bamgbose. Bamgbose was making his UFC debut against Daniel Sarafian and took only 60 seconds to dispatch his Brazilian opponent with some devastating striking. Speaking after the fight, Bamgbose sent out a chilling warning to the rest of the UFC middleweight division saying: “I’m coming for you. You know who you are.”

Results

Main Card

Donald Cerrone def. Alex Oliveira via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 2:33

Derek Brunson def. Roan Carneiro via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:38

Cody Garbrandt def. Augusto Mendes via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:18

Dennis Bermudez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Chris Camozzi def. Joe Riggs via TKO (knees) - Round 1, 0:26

James Krause def. Shane Campbell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

Sean Strickland def. Alex Garcia via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 4:25

Oluwale Bamgbose def. Daniel Sarafian via knockout (head kick, punches) - Round 1, 1:00

Anthony Smith def. Leonardo Augusto Leleco via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Nathan Coy def. Jonavin Webb via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

Ashlee Evans-Smith def. Marion Reneau via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-27)

Lauren Murphy def. Kelly Faszholz via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 4:55

Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Anthony Hamilton via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)