UFC 249 Prelims: Anthony Pettis Earns Unanimous Verdict Over Donald Cerrone in Rematch

Two gunslingers swinging it out! @ShowtimePettis and @CowboyCerrone giving us a show! #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/viibyoxGFg

— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2020

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Anthony Pettis made it 2-0 against Donald Cerrone, but it wasn’t easy.

More than seven years removed from a liver-kick knockout of “Cowboy” that propelled him to a lightweight title shot, Pettis battled his now-friend tooth and nail for three rounds in UFC 249’s featured preliminary bout at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday night. Despite being a little foggy down the stretch due to a Cerrone head kick, Pettis emerged with a unanimous decision triumph thanks to a trio of 29-28 scorecards from the cageside judges.

“I thought it was close,” Pettis said. “The last high kick [from Cerrone] shook everything. He hit me, I hit him. That’s what it’s all about.

“It could’ve went either way. I don’t know.”

The first two rounds were extremely competitive as Cerrone attempted to exorcise the demons of his quick TKO loss to Conor McGregor in January. Both men had their moments, but Pettis seemed to land with more authority with his left hand during exchanges. Action really picked up when Pettis inadvertently poked Cerrone in the eye in Round 3. The foul wasn’t acknowledged, however, and Pettis (23-10, 10-9 UFC) was able to swarm on Cerrone (36-15, 23-12 UFC) with a flurry of punches in the immediate aftermath. “Cowboy” shook it off and later connected shin to head on Pettis for his most significant blow of the contest. Somehow, “Showtime” shook it off and battled until the final horn.

Oleynik Spoils Werdum’s Return

Alexey Oleynik ruined Fabricio Werdum’s return from a USADA-mandated two-year layoff, winning a competitive split decision in a preliminary heavyweight encounter. Two judges saw the bout 29-28 for Oleynik, while a third had it 29-28 in favor of “Vai Cavalo.” The 42-year-old Russian went the distance for just the ninth time 73 professional bouts, winning his second straight fight in the Octagon.

Competing for the first time since March 2018, Werdum (23-9-1, 11-6 UFC) looked like a deer in the headlights in Round 1. Oleynik (59-13-1, 8-4 UFC) pressured the Brazilian from the outset, swarming and tagging his foe with powerful right hands and uppercuts. Werdum’s chin would hold up, and while he did settle in from there, it was Oleynik’s aggression that would ultimately win the scorecards. Werdum, meanwhile, failed to capitalize on takedowns and dominant positions in Rounds 2 and 3, as Oleynik was able to escape submission threats in both periods.

Related » UFC 249 Round-by-Round Scoring

Esparza Takes Split Verdict Over Waterson

Although her wrestling was largely thwarted, Carla Esparza found enough in reserve to earn a split-decision victory (27-30, 29-28, 30-27) against Michelle Waterson in a strawweight tilt. Esparza, the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion, has won three straight within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Outside of a takedown in the waning moments of Round 1, Esparza was unable to get Waterson to the canvas, as the Jackson-Wink MMA product stuffed her foe’s shots and answered with knees to the midsection on a consistent basis. Waterson, mixing up her stances and utilizing a variety of kicks, kept “The Cookie Monster” circling on the outside for the majority of the contest. In what was largely a low output affair, Esparza (16-6, 7-4 UFC) upped her aggression in Round 3, landing several effective right hands and forcing a couple of wild exchanges in close quarters.

Waterson (17-8, 5-4 UFC) has dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in her UFC career.

Luque Outduels Price in Slugfest

The combination of Vicente Luque and Niko Price has proven to be a tried-and-true recipe for fireworks.

In a wildly entertaining rematch of an October 2017 clash, Luque (18-7-1, 11-3 UFC) improved to 2-0 against Price (14-4, 1 NC, 6-4, 1 NC UFC) with a third-round technical knockout triumph. With Price’s eye swollen completely shut thanks to a left hook from Luque, the cageside physician waved off the welterweight contest at the 3:37 mark of Round 3. “The Silent Assassin,” who submitted Price with a brabo choke in their first meeting, has won seven of his last nine UFC appearances dating back to 2017.

“I got ready for the best Niko Price ever,” Luque said. “I knew he was not gonna come easy. He wanted to take my head off, I was sure of that … He brought the fight, it became a brawl.”

Luque’s technical acumen gave him a slight advantage against Price’s brawling approach. The Brazilian battered his foe’s lead leg with low calf kicks and countered effectively with crisp punching combinations. Price still had his moments, most notably when he buckled Luque with a front kick to the chin in the opening frame. However, it was Luque who landed the most damaging blows, stunning his foe on a few occasions before dropping him with the aforementioned left hook in Round 3. Shortly thereafter, the bout was halted.

Mitchell’s Grappling Overwhelms Rosa

Charles Rosa won’t soon forget the 15 minutes he spent in the Octagon with Bryce Mitchell.

Well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most aggressive submission artists in the sport, Mitchell (13-0, 4-0 UFC) rolled to a dominant unanimous decision triumph over Rosa (12-4, 3-4 UFC) in a featherweight tilt. The judges’ scorecards reflected the lopsided nature of the bout: 30-25, 30-25 and 30-24 -- all in favor of Mitchell.

“Thug Nasty” landed takedowns in each frame and appeared to have Rosa on the verge on tapping out on multiple occasions. Mitchell’s onslaught included multiple arm-triangle choke attempts and a few renditions of the rarely-seen twister, which he used to defeat Matt Sayles in his last Octagon appearance. To his credit, Rosa, a blackbelt, was able to survive for the duration. Still, the contest was defined by Mitchell’s ability to dominate grappling exchanges, transitions and scrambles.

Spann Holds Off Alvey

Ryan Spann remained unbeaten in his burgeoning UFC tenure, taking a hard-fought split decision against Sam Alvey in a light heavyweight affair. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for the Fortis MMA product, while a third submitted a 29-28 scorecard in favor of Alvey (33-14, 1 NC, 10-9 UFC).

Spann (18-5, 4-0 UFC) threatened to make it an early night when he trapped Alvey in a standing arm-triangle choke in the opening stanza. The Team Quest representative’s face reddened and he appeared to be struggling with his opponent’s squeeze, but ultimately Alvey was able to free himself.

“That was so close,” Spann said. “I heard him wheezing, barely breathing. I was a little bit worried that I might burn my arms out.”

Spann relied on his superior reach for much of the rest of the contest, landing straight punching combinations and push kicks to keep his opponent at bay until the bout’s waning moments. Alvey staged a late rally in Round 3, as he twice dazed Spann with crafty counter right hooks. Ultimately, “Superman” was able to survive until the final horn.