Cerrone wins, calls for McGregor — who responds
Donald Cerrone sends Alex Hernandez to the canvas with a head kick, then finishes the bout with some ground-and-pound to win. (1:15)
Greg Rosenstein is the MMA editor at ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @grosenstein.
NEW YORK — Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone sent the Brooklyn crowd into a frenzy after he defeated Alex Hernandez by second-round TKO on Saturday night at Barclays Center. Cerrone landed a head kick with just over two minutes left in the second round that sent Hernandez to the ground. He pounced on his fallen opponent and landed multiple hard punches before the referee stepped in to finish the bout early.
Cerrone improved to 35-11 overall. His 22 wins and 16 finishes in the UFC is the most in promotion history.
“The old man has still got it,” Cerrone said after the win. “This is the fight that the UFC wanted. I wanted [a] top- 5 [opponent]. I want Conor [McGregor] if he’ll agree to it. I’m coming for a belt. Cowboy is back.”
McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, quickly responded on Twitter, accepting the challenge.
For a fight like that Donald, I’ll fight you.
Congratulations.
– Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 20, 2019
The loss was Hernandez’s first since June 21, 2013 against Jamall Emmers, when he was fighting in Hero FC. It was also the first time he was finished in his professional career. Hernandez had won eight in a row entering the matchup.
Joseph Benavidez defeated Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision
Joseph Benavidez made a strong case for a UFC flyweight title shot, defeating Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision. Benavidez (27-5) was the aggressor throughout and showed his elite grappling skills against a tough competitor in Ortiz (19-8). After the bout he called for a chance to face the winner of UFC Fight Night: Brooklyn’s main event between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo.
Paige VanZant defeated Rachael Ostovich by second-round submission
Paige VanZant had lost three of her last four bouts entering Saturday night, but she left victorious after a submission win against Rachael Ostovich. Ostovich took VanZant’s back midway through the second round but fell off. VanZant immediately pounced and in turn was able to take her opponent’s back. She then finished the bout early as Ostovich tapped during an armbar submission attempt. VanZant is now 8-4 overall while Ostovich drops to 4-5.
Glover Teixeira vs. Karl Roberson
Glover Teixeira withstood an early barrage of punches from Karl Roberson to win by first-round submission. Teixeira (28-7) was up against the cage with Roberson (7-2) before taking the match to the ground. He then locked in an arm triangle for the quick finish. It was his ninth finish at light heavyweight, one shy of the most in division history for the UFC. Roberson became the second fighter ever to lose two fights by arm-triangle choke, joining Brandon Thatch.
Joanne Calderwood defeated Ariane Lipski by unanimous decision
There was a lot of hype for Ariane Lipski’s UFC debut, but Joanne Calderwood put a stop to that with her dominant unanimous decision win (30-26, 30-26, 30-27). Calderwood took Lipski to the mat multiple times throughout the three rounds, nearly finishing her on multiple attempts for armbars and rear-naked chokes. Lipski finally got a takedown of her own with three minutes left in the fight but was unable to land anything significant. Calderwood (13-3) called out Jessica Eye after the win.
Alonzo Menifield defeated Vinicius Moreira by first-round TKO
Alonzo Menifield landed a right hook on Vinicius Moreira 3:56 into the first round that sent his opponent to the mat. Menifield followed up with a few more punches to Moreira’s face that forced the referee to end the bout early. Menifield also dropped Moreira (9-2) seconds into the fight that brought fans to their feet, but he was unable to get the finish at that time. The win pushes Menifield’s unbeaten streak to eight.
Cory Sandhagen defeated Mario Bautista by first-round submission
Cory Sandhagen kicked off the ESPN portion of the card with a bang, defeating Mario Bautista by first-round arm bar. Sandhagen (10-1) took the fight to the mat three minutes into the bout and was able to lock in his opponent’s arm for the submission win. This was his third finish in three UFC fights. Earlier in the fight, Sandhagen wowed the crowd with a flying knee that landed flush on Bautista’s face and dropped him to the mat. This was Bautista’s first loss in seven bouts.
Dennis Bermudez defeated Te Edwards by unanimous decision
Dennis Bermudez improved to 17-9 after defeating Te Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards). Bermudez was much more on the offensive compared to Edwards and took the fight to the mat multiple times for submission attempts and ground-and-pound. The win was his first in his past five bouts, but the last of his career. After the victory, Bermudez told ESPN announcer Jon Anik he was retiring from the sport and left his gloves in the cage.
Geoff Neal defeated Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision
Geoff Neal impressed in a big way, defeating Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). He landed many jabs throughout the fight and dropped Muhammad twice in the third round, once by a left hook and once by a head kick. Neal (11-2) also did an exceptional job stopping multiple takedown attempts by Muhammad (14-3), who ended the night with his face covered in blood.
Chance Rencountre defeated Kyle Stewart by first-round submission
Chance Rencountre defeated Kyle Stewart by rear-naked choke 2:25 in the first round. The fighters traded shots early before Rencountre got Stewart up against the fence. He later took his back and got under his chin for the quick tap. Rencountre improved to 13-3 overall, and Stewart dropped to 11-2.
Still to come:
Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw