Donald Cerrone has been one of the mainstays in the WEC, but with the merger of the promotion into the UFC, nothing was guaranteed. Cerrone was likely to get the invite to the big promotion but certainly didn't have room to jerk around and lose to Chris Horodecki.
He didn't. Early in the second round, Cerrone hit the deck and transitioned to a triangle choke. The veteran stayed patient with Horodecki and eventually locked on the submission hold where it was unbearable for the 23-year-old to continue at 2:43 of the second round.
Cerrone will now go from being a big fish in a little pond to a small fish in the biggest MMA pond in the sport. The 155-pound division in the UFC is extremely deep. The lanky lightweight should provide some great matchup opportunities for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.
"The Cowboy" called out Cole Miller following the fight. Miller has a win over Cerrone's teammate Leonard Garcia.
Horodecki was very much in the fight in the first round. In spite of giving away a lot in the reach department, Horodecki was having success getting inside and landing combinations to the head and body. There were several trips to the floor, and Cerrone looked like the slicker fighter in the grappling department. Cerrone won the first round, but it was competitive.
For some reason between rounds, Horodecki's trainer Shawn Tompkins asked the fighter to grapple and get it to the ground in the second.
Horodecki listened and got it down but was almost immediately in danger, in the grips of Cerrone's long legs.
Cerrone (13-3, 6-3 WEC) moves over to UFC with the potential of being a Chris Lytle-type. The MMA veteran has won seven postfight honors during his time with UFC.
Cerrone, 27, has the same exciting, go-for-broke approach, that'll make him a big hit with his new fans over in the UFC.
Horodecki (16-3, 2-2 UFC) may have cost himself a gig with the UFC. That said, he's a young dude who probably deserves at least one more fight with Zuffa.
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