“He hit me hard. I remember that. First round he clubbed me good. I’ve got to use a little more head movement. Try not to get swapped as hard as I did then. He’s a good fighter, I’m not taking anything away from the dude. I’m excited, this is going to be fun… I’m going to knock the [expletive] out of him. I predict that!”
-Donald Cerrone recalls his first fight with Rafael dos Anjos in an interview with FoxSports.com and predicts a KO win in the rematch this Saturday at UFC on Fox 17.
Penick’s Analysis: Dos Anjos was able to control most of that first fight back in 2013, and it was his pressure and power early that set the tone for the 15 minute bout. There’s more time with which to work here, and if Cerrone can’t avoid taking some of those power strikes, he’s going to wind up in a similar position given what we saw dos Anjos do to Anthony Pettis in March. Cerrone’s been on a hell of a run, of course, and he’s improved greatly since they first fought. Still, he’s had a tendency to fall short in big spots like this, so who knows what we’ll actually see on Saturday night. He’s got the skills necessary to win this fight, but with evidence of how this matchup has played out in the past, it’s also easy to believe he’ll wind up on the wrong end of things once again.
[Photo (c) Jayne Kamin-Oncea via USA Today Sports]
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