The featured bout of the UFC 167 preliminary card was a lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Evan Dunham, and most expected it to vie for fight of the night. Instead, Cerrone came out and put on one of the best performances of his career, battering Dunham all over the cage in round one and submitting him with a triangle in the second. The finish came at 3:49 of round two.
Dunham shot in for a takedown right away but got a knee from Cerrone for his efforts. Cerrone landed a huge knee that wobbled Dunham, then he dropped him with a barrage of punches. Cerrone pounded away on the ground but somehow Dunham survived. Cerrone worked from top position with elbows that had Dunham bloodied up. Dunham reversed and got top position, but Cerrone locked up an omoplata. He let it go and worked a front headlock until Dunham got up. Cerrone rocked Dunham with another knee as he exited the clinch, and another. Dunham landed a late combo, but it was all Cerrone in the first round.
Dunham landed the first hard strike of round two, a leg kick. Cerrone tried a step-in side elbow that missed, but settled for a straight right landing. Both men had their moments striking over the next two minutes but nothing huge happened. Cerrone got a takedown and worked from side control. Dunham reversed but got stuck in a triangle. He had nowhere to go against the cage and was forced to tap.
The win moved Cerrone's UFC record to 8-3, while Dunham has now dropped three of his last four.