With Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier stealing the headlines heading into their UFC 182 main event Saturday, one of the UFC’s most underrated fighters looks to take out a fan favourite in the night’s co-feature when Alliance MMA product Myles Jury puts his undefeated pro record on the line as he battles Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a lightweight affair.
San Diego’s Jury is coming off a signature performance in Japan, where he handed former PRIDE champion Takanori Gomi the first knockout loss of his career at UFC Fight Night 52. The win pushed the 26-year-old’s professional record to 15-0, an impressive feat considering Jury failed to make it past the preliminary round of The Ultimate Fighter: Live just three and a half years ago. After wins over Gomi and Diego Sanchez last year, the N0. 8 lightweight in the UFC is looking to earn another victory over an established veteran in Cerrone.
The stakes are high, as a victory over the former WEC title challenger is the difference between being a developing prospect and a potential lightweight contender.
Cerrone is coming off an impressive run in 2014 where he went 4-0, including three finishes. The knock on the Jackson-Winkeljohn product in the past has been his underwhelming performances in big fights, as displayed in his losses to Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. His unanimous decision victory over former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 178 seemed to silence those critics, however Saturday night he must once again turn in an impressive performance – this time against a hungry up-and-coming fighter – if he wants to propel himself back into the lightweight title picture.
Stylistically this is a very exciting matchup that has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Neither fighter is shy about exchanging in a standup affair, with Cerrone showing off his ever improving kickboxing game and Jury recently displaying some newly added power in his standup arsenal. Jury has never been finished in his career, while Cerrone has only been finished twice. With that said, it’s likely we’ll see this match end up on the judges’ scorecards, rather than a fight-ending finish.
Cerrone is the older, more established fighter and arguably possesses the better standup game. Despite the 31-year-old having 15 submission victories to his name, it’s Jury who is arguably better on the mat being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. The odds currently have Cerrone has a two-to-one favourite, but with Jury’s improving overall game, it’s hard to pick a winner in this one.
Should he emerge victorious, Jury would finally silence those critics who claim his undefeated record is padded. It would also propel him into the conversation for a 155-pound title shot since he is one of only two contenders – Khabib Nurmagomedov being the other one – who holds an undefeated record in the lightweight division.
Conversely, a win for Cerrone over a rising star in Jury would not only get him over that proverbial hump but could also earn him a much awaited title shot. Regardless, fans are in for a fantastic matchup that could potentially steal the show.
