UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs Medeiros Fantasy Rewind
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone got back in the win column in a big way on Sunday night as he took out Yancy Medeiros by first-round TKO with just two seconds remaining in the opening frame of their main event showdown at UFC Fight Night in Austin, Texas.
Cerrone was facing the toughest stretch of his career with three straight losses, but he didn't let that affect his performance at all as he looked as dangerous as ever with Medeiros on the attack from the opening bell.
As the Hawaiian fighter pressed the action, Cerrone started to time his counter strikes with better accuracy and more power in each combination. Finally, with Medeiros looking for another barrage, it was Cerrone who fired back with a perfectly timed right hand that put his opponent down and out on the ground.
The end came at 4:58 into the first round.
While Cerrone may have been facing tough odds after three consecutive losses, fantasy players were still very much on his side, with 69 percent picking him to win in the main event and another 61 percent predicting that he would end the fight by knockout. It was definitely an impressive outing, as "Cowboy" is back on track.
In the co-main event, Derrick Lewis had to dig deep in the third round to muster a comeback against Marcin Tybura, but he finished the fight in emphatic fashion with a monstrous knockout shot that earned him the victory.
While Tybura definitely had his moments in the fight, Lewis was an overwhelming favorite, with 79 percent of fantasy players picking him to win and another 85 percent correctly predicting that he would end the night by knockout.
James Vick picked up his fourth win in a row with a unanimous decision victory over Francisco Trinaldo, with 75 percent of fantasy players picking him going into the night.
While three favorites capped off the card, it was Curtis Millender who pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the night, as he earned a spectacular knockout over former title challenger Thiago Alves in the second round after just 22 percent of fantasy players picked him. Those players will also enjoy a lot of bonus points, with an extra 120 being dished out because this was a close fight on paper, and another 40 points being added because this was Millender's Octagon debut.
Brandon Davis also pulled off a slight upset in his Fight of the Night performance against Steven Peterson, with 42 percent of fantasy players picking him to win. Davis also earned an extra 120 points thanks to this being such a tight matchup going into Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Sage Northcutt kicked off the main card as the biggest favorite all night with a whopping 91 percent picking him to win against Thibault Gouti, and while he got the job done, it was a back and forth battle over all three rounds.
On the preliminary card, Diego Ferreira returned from a long absence and picked up an impressive win over Jared Gordon, with 58 percent of fantasy players correctly predicting his victory. The players who picked Ferreira also enjoyed an extra 120-point bonus thanks to the tight odds on this matchup.
Geoff Neal pulled off an impressive upset over Brian Camozzi as he got a submission victory in his UFC debut with just 39 percent of fantasy players picking him. Neal also earned those players an extra 40 points because it was his first time competing in the Octagon.
Roberto Sanchez made short work of Joby Sanchez with a submission in their flyweight fight. Roberto was a solid favorite, with 62 percent of fantasy players picking him to win.
Lucie Pudilova also got back on track with an impressive outing against Sarah Moras as she earned a three-round decision victory with 56 percent of fantasy players picking her. Pudilova also earned an extra 120 points thanks to the matchup with Moras being so close going into the night.
On the early prelims, Alex Morono put Josh Burkman away by submission, with 64 percent of fantasy players picking him, while Oskar Piechota defeated Tim Williams early, with 74 percent correctly predicting his victory in Austin.
When the night was over, nine favorites were victorious while there were just three upsets according to the selections made by fantasy players at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Medeiros.
