Despite what you may think, the aptly titled UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy main event has more on the line than just who gets to take the dude ranch moniker home. In what will be his first ever appearance at 170lbs, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone looks to put some distance between his embarrassing title fight loss against lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos by facing late replacement Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira this Sunday at UFC Fight Night 83 on FOX Sports 1.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Brazilian, Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was an old man struggling to maintain his balance on icy sidewalks. Despite being five years younger than Cerrone, Oliveira has the face of an old catcher’s mitt, that is, if the mitt had been thrown off a truck in his native Brazil and not recovered for decades.
Luckily for “Cowboy” Oliveira, this isn’t a beauty pageant. Rather than having to woo judges with his evening gown choice, he’ll have to find a way to incapacitate one of the UFC’s best strikers in “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Of course, that’s a heck of a lot easier said than done. Returning to the level of activity that he prefers, this bout favors Cerrone in a number of ways. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that “Cowboy” hasn’t had a lot of time to think about this fight. Originally slated to face Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means, Zuffa was forced to find a late replacement when Means lived up to his nickname a little too closely after getting popped for a banned substance by the UFC’s anti-doping program.
While some fighters would be forced to go back to the drawing board and frantically put a new game plan in place, Cerrone handled the opponent change as he so often does: casual disregard. Not knowing who he’s going to have to fight does wonders for Cerrone, who’s admitted the mental aspect is the largest struggle for him. Fighting every few weeks against a “TBD” opponent favors “Cowboy” if only because he doesn’t have the opportunity to overthink the fight before it happens.
When looking back at his ill-fated title bid against dos Anjos, “Cowboy” appeared to have everything working for him. Coming in off an eight fight winning streak and the prior experience of having faced the champion already, Cerrone had the best possible lead-in for a championship fight. That is, until you realize he had to wait six months and 26 days between fights. That type of layoff is a killer for Cerrone, especially since he had to spend those nearly seven months thinking only of dos Anjos.
Now, more than two months removed from the painful loss, Cerrone should be able to find new life at welterweight, especially against an opponent who will be happy to meet him in the center of the octagon.
But despite the favorable matchup and quick turnaround, Cerrone will ultimately have to contend with one of the sports talented up-and-comers in Alex Oliveira.
Winner of three of his last four UFC appearances, with one submission and one KO, Oliveira will have the winning momentum on his side. On top of that, no one is really expecting him to win. However, he’ll be facing the most dangerous fighter in his career, and will also be making not only his UFC main event debut, but will mark his third ever appearance on a televised card. The pressure that comes with the big stage of the UFC can be too much for some, while for others it provides the exposure they’ve been waiting for.
If Oliveira can find a way to disrupt “Cowboy’s” rhythm and timing, he could pull off one of the year’s early upsets. If not, he’ll have to contend with an angry “Cowboy” Cerrone marching him down with kicks and elbows. Either way, this is a fight Cerrone can’t really afford to lose. While his job security with the UFC has probably never been higher, how fans and media members perceive him would change drastically with a loss to Oliveira.
Much like Johny Hendricks recent TKO loss to Stephen Thompson, Cerrone is expected to mop the floor with Oliveira. If he comes up short, we’ll all be left scratching our heads, wondering where “Cowboy” really belongs in the big scheme of things.
