Fight-Pick: Cerrone vs Edwards

Fight-Pick: Cerrone vs Edwards

By Andrew Hickey

The Fight: Donald Cerrone v Leon Edwards (UFC Singapore)

Fan Favorite Donald Cerrone enters the octagon this coming Saturday in a familiar position as he welcomes a surging English Welterweight intent on taking him out and garnering the attention that comes with defeating a legend of the sport.

A former Lightweight title challenger now in the twilight of his career, Cowboy is content to no longer make the cut to 155 and is the most logical gatekeeper to the Welterweight top 10 at this point of his career. The most active fighter on the roster, he brings eyes wherever he goes with a kill or be killed style that delivers performance/fight of the night honours at a frequency that sees him third in the all time bonus list.

A TKO victory against game Hawaiian Yancy Meideiros in his last bout brought an end to a 3 fight skid that had derailed all the momentum attained from a perfect 4-0 start to life as a Welterweight. A stoppage loss to rising superstar and Liverpool native Darren Till sent shock-waves through the MMA community and began a changing of the guard for the Welterweight contenders.

Leon Edwards makes the biggest step up his young career after an impressive start to his UFC tenure that has seen him go 7-2 against strong opposition. Defeated only by Kamaru Usman who has gone on to become one of the most feared fighters of the division and a split decision loss in his promotional bow against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace Claudio Silva. A 5 fight win streak has seen the former BAMMA welterweight champion catapulted in the main event spotlight and given the opportunity to challenge alongside Darren Till as they both look to become only the second English fighter to compete for the 170 pound title.

The Gameplan:

The Blueprint is available on how to defeat Donald Cerrone. A high volume output and constant pressure that does not allow him to settle on the outside and use his kicking game to dictate the action. His most recent losses against Till and Jorge Masvidal stemmed from them not allowing Cowboy to cement any rhythm in his striking. He operates incredibly well when he is in control of the pace and can be the aggressor, when backed up and having to counter strike is where we start to see him struggle.

Edwards brings in a reach advantage in both departments and despite being marginally smaller in height has a structural size advantage being more natural to the weight. He has previously competed at middleweight and should have a strength advantage in the clinch. Edwards should have the ability to compete the fight standing if Cerrone goes for the double leg that he sometimes mixes into his arsenal to good effect. At 26, being ten years younger, Edwards should on paper have the better gas tank over his veteran opponent if needed.

The bout more than likely comes down to Edwards use of striking. A patient striker with solid power, Edwards has looked very crisp in his UFC run thus far but Cerrone will without question be his biggest test to date.

Prediction:

We don’t yet know if Edwards has the ability to operate at the upper echelons of the division. All signals are that he has the tools to become a major player at 170 and this is his audition for the role.

Given the stage both careers are at and the damage Cerrone has taken over the years, the younger, hungrier Edwards I think will eventually get through with strikes after a patient opening to the fight is the outcome. If Edwards plays it too cautions he could easily get caught by the ever dangerous Cerrone.

Expect a finish as a Donald Cerrone fight rarely fail to deliver fireworks.

Leon Edwards via TKO in round 3