UFC Austin video recap: Cowboy Cerrone stops Yancy Medeiros in round 1

In the main event at UFC Austin, veteran Donald Cerrone came in with his back against the wall, coming off a 3 fight losing streak capped by a bad loss to Darren Till last October. Cowboy needed the win badly - and he got it, taking out Yancy Medeiros by a TKO in the closing seconds of round 1. With the win, Cowboy moves his record to 33-10 and snaps that losing streak, while Medeiros drops to 15-5 and picks up his first loss since moving up to Welterweight.

What was the high point of the fight?

The finish was good, but for me, the highlight was the back and forth that preceded it. These two were paired up because they both like to throw down, and they had a few exchanges where they did exactly that, throwing caution to the wind to just go at each other with all they have. That didn’t go the way Medeiros hoped, but it was certainly entertaining.

Where do these two go from here?

For Cowboy, this win pushes off worries about his fall as a fighter for now. It also ties him for most wins and most finishes in UFC history. Because he’s Donald Cerrone, you know he’ll be back in that Octagon fighting to move out of the tie very soon. He’s famously up for anybody, anytime, so you never know who’s next, but I just want to see him in fun action fights. If I had my pick, we’d next see him across the cage from Carlos Condit.

Medeiros showed here that he’s an exciting, action fighter, but also reminded us that he’s got some defensive gaps. I don’t see him rising much above the level where he currently sits, but that’s OK - he’s the kind of guy who will stick around and make fight cards just a bit more interesting. Look for him to get a bounce back fight next time.

Watch it now, later, or never?

Now. It’s short, and it’s fun.

Highlights: