UFC 141: Nate Diaz defeats Donald Cerrone via Unanimous Decision
Posted on December 30, 2011, 11:46 PM by Anton GurevichUFC veteran Nate Diaz proved he's one of the best Lightweights on the planet, after going to distance with Donald Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Diaz looked at the peak of his MMA career, punishing Donald Cerrone throughout the fight with laser-sharp boxing combination. Despite not being at 100% of their power, Nate Diaz's punches put a crimson mask on Donald Cerrone face, as "The Cowboy" tried to find his way back into the fight. Cerrone responded with knees and leg kicks that knocked down Diaz on several occasion, but Greg Jackson's product refused to take any risks in following Nate Diaz down to the mat.
The third round between the two delivered toe-to-toe MMA action, with both Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone trying win via a stoppage. The pair exchanged non-verbal insults throughout the fight, but at the end Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone shaked hands and ended their contest on a positive note.
The judges scored the bout 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 in favor of Nate Diaz, who moves one step closer to a shot at the UFC Lightweight title. The road is clear for Nate Diaz to face the winner of Henderson vs. Edgar, with Anthony Pettis currently being the only top-ranked UFC Lightweight on a win-streak.
Comments
What all you haters have to say now?
Not a hater (was cheering for Diaz) but did not think that Diaz would be able to do that to him, if he can sure up his take down defense Diaz can hang with guys like Edgar, Maynard and Henderson.
Also did anyone else think it was hilarious how Cowboy said his lip was busted up by a headbut from a horse?
probs to Nate the guy can Box ! i never expected to beat Cerrone on the stand up, Cerrone had Diaz in the second and if he had go for the kill after those knockdowns he would probably had won the fight if not by GnP then at least by Decision but sadly he didnt
He will be back he is still a top 7 LW , if anything tonight only prove that younger Diaz is right on the mix at 155, i mean before going to WW he beat Maynard even if the judges gave the fight to Gray .
Interesting to see if it ever happens 5'6" Edgar vs 6' Diaz lol
man Ive been a fan of both for years and was worst fight both have done
and the crazy thing is might get a bonus and both looked like chitt!!
both go balls out and didnt Cerrone has great ...great kickboxing
was sweeps but only a couple head kicks and didnt fallow up same with Daiz... sucked im glad that they respect each other now but two guys that are great at what they do and didnt notta Cerronesaid a couple key things in interviews saying he wants to wait before at least a few fights did 6 fights in 12 months 5 were crazy great went for kill and then in 6th did notta something wierd for what evere reason he stood in front of Daiz and let him jab the shit out of him was worst fight seen in while..
I agree, Nate won fair and square but cowboy looked terrible and uncomposed which is unusual for him.
Still hate Nate.
Great fighter though.
Cerrone looked off and slow. Wish he would have put faith in his top control and do some GnP, he had tons of opportunities. Nate Diaz is dangerous but just a bad game plan and bad performance from Cerrone.
Great fight put from both those guys and gratz to Diaz for winning. Hope he gets someone with great wrestling and top control. (Likely winner of Edgar/Bendo?)
Fock nate Diaz. ,but also Fock cerrone, he disapoined me, I dont know how he couldnt finish that slim focker diaz. i would knock him out myself with a punch or a head kick.
I hate when the bad person wins . Its not good for the sport **** the Diaz brothers.
No Im not a gangsta I have a nice job actually. lol But I truly believe that gangsta in the small town where i grew up are tougher than American gansta.
Let me tell you that it is not because rocky beat Drago in the movie that it would happen in the real life. In russia we are tough man !
dude you know that drago isnt really a russian right
Fock Fedor....yea I said it.
Nate might not have good wrestling, but his bjj makes up for it....
Well your making progress DLS from your first 2 sentences lol
Cerrone needs to go home and watch the fight over and see how effective his kicks were.Work more on GNP so he can follow up whenever those kicks drop him.Big ups to diaz but I believe cerrone could have done better if he recognized what was working in the 2nd round and kept that momentum till the end..
i think he dint want to be on the ground with diaz, he knew diaz brothers are beasts on the ground
I agree with both of you but after the first round he should have realized he needed to try something different, even if you're defending against submissions the whole time a lot of judges will give you the round just because you're on top. It's just not how Cerrone fight even though laying on him for the second half of the fight might have stole it for him, live by the sword die by the sword.
I think Cerrone let emotion carry him through not brains. He usually fights smarter than that and maintains distance and sets up his striking from distance. Against Nate he let Nate close the distance and was pretty static at times, probably because he just wanted to bust Nate up but that's the worst thing he should have done. If he'd stayed on his toes and started with kicks (his biggest strength) and carried on like that it could have been a much closer fight. But take nothing away from Nate, superb performance. Boxing very crisp and great cardio but he carries his hands too low at times and at some point I can see him getting KO'd. Can also see him being a contender too.
wow all the top fighters have over looked your remarkable insight.
I bet Diaz at the last minute. Good damn thing.
Cerrone really looked out of it, especially in round one.
That tends to happen when you get stung by a straight jab at the opening bell, followed by more of the same.
He took a hard shot somewhere in the first round and never cleared out the cobwebs. It was all Nate after that, the leg kicks dont help when Nate gets back up and hits you with 10 more shots between them.
Cerrone was simply out boxed and the Diaz's are exposing everyone you thought could box but couldnt. GSP and Condit better be paying close attention to their style or its gonna be a long night for them.
Yea you would to if you started getiing hit in the face over n over.nate has a good reach and knows how to use it.
Man Cerrone looked real Terrible today but Diaz did spectacular
Everyone looks good until they run into their kryptonite.
Man what the hell was up with Cerrone? After the first exchange at the cage Cerrone looked completely off his game, looked very slow, no head movement at all and was flat footed. From there on he stayed like that, at one point he started bouncing about and looked like he was getting in his groove but apart form I couldn't understand what was wrong with him. Don't worry though guys, Cerrone will be back better than ever, he's still young.
Saying that... DAMN Diaz looked amazing tonight. Best performance of his career against one of the top opponents he has fought. His boxing is one of the best in MMA, lit looked just as good ashis brother;s tonight. I don't know what it is but since he has dropped back to LW he has looked incredible, trully turned a corner in his young career. Only thing I can say is his wrestling and physicality still looks weaker than his opponents but his stand-up is on another level.
Great year for the Diaz brothers!
Vicious dont you EVER "I told you so" on this website. So i guess you've never been wrong predicting a fight?
With that said WOW I didn't see that coming. Nate looked great and obviously continues to improve. Cerrone looked good too he got outboxed. Great fight!! Great fight!!
lmao what the truth hurt?
Not gonna lie i was scared for Nate in this fight but he wow me. Glad to see Nate coming out of Nicks shadow and getting well earned respect. Nick Diaz for welterweight champ and maybe Nate for LW.......MAYBE.
Can't see nate subbing Bendo. I could see him out boxing him though but I think all that would do is make Henderson take him down and do a GNP on him until it's over. In my opinion Henderson has the tools stylistically to keep the top guys at bay for now and he will get the title.
yeee! i love the diaz bros
I lost a lot of respect for Donald Cerrone.
Cerrone let Diaz stand up multiple times after tripping him.
The Cowboy was afraid to go into Diaz's guard. If the Cowboy had used those trips to ground and pound and wrestle, he very well might have won.
I had lost some interest in Nate Diaz after Rory MacDonald schooled him--but at LW, in his last two fights--Diaz's boxing has looked crisp and accurate. His cardio is excellent too. Nate looks like a new fighter with his improved boxing chops.
Totally agree on that last point. After the Rory fight I felt the same way. That is why I'm more of fan though- it takes a lot of character and maturity to bounce back like that, and even improve, at that level. So let's see if Cerrone grows up a bit after this. I was going to predict a victory for Cowboy until I saw how thin-skinned he got after the "altercation." He needs a come to Jesus and I'm NOT talking about Jackson- that guy is a tool in the ring. He acts like a drama queen and sounded really lame yelling at Cowboy after round 2.
Anyone know who MacDonald is lined for next? He has looked one of the most impressive WWs last year and can't be far away from contendership.
I'm a huge fan of both Nate and Cowboy.... Awesome fight...But the fact is, Nate ****ing destroyed The Cowboy... Nate Haters eat that... Don't **** with the Diaz brother.... Nate future Champ.... Awesome....
Look at all these nice Diaz comments.... Just yesterday i was reading everyone saying Diaz would get KO'ed and hes a punk and blah blah
Glad to say i told you so ! Nate is a beast, a real fighter that scraps, took it right into cowboys game, all stand up... and beat that ass !
I also love how Cowboy flipped Diaz the bird to start the fight.... BUT Diaz flipped him the double birds to end it LOL
its funny that they made up after the fight, there best friends now! cowboy gonna take him out on his ranch now and ride horses
Very impressed with nate, both diaz brothers boxing looks so good. Like to see him fight either guida or third fight with maynard next see how his TDD is cos he's gonna need it if he's gonna fight for the title
Anyone else kinda feel like Cowboy threw this one away?
All credit to Nate, his boxing was superb. But DC clearly wanted a boxing match, he wanted it to be a slugfest. He had multiple opportunities to jump on Nate and use some gNp and didn't once shoot.
I know Nate has legit BJJ but I'm sure DC could have followed up loads of those leg kicks which grounded Nate with some big shots but he just walked away everytime.
It's refreshing to see from a Jackson fighter but I can't help but feel it was foolish
I was expecting a submission finish from Nate, but the Cowboy robbed me of that.He's a smart fighter and recognized the danger in being with Diaz on the ground. He knew his chances were better on the feet, and took that gamble instead. I don't think that Cerrone lost any momentum in this fight.
Congrats to Nate on a big win.
After seeing the similarities between he and Nick and their growth I can't help but be more worried about my fav fighter - GSP. Man those Diaz's are good.
Its a good thing that Cerrone WASN'T as ready as he said to go to the ground for GNP or BJJ though because Nate had no defense for the leg sweep. By the third, once he saw he couldn't win this on the feet, he should have followed him to the ground. I'm not saying he could have won there but once stand up was failing he had to try something else.
ego
I agree that he should have tried something else as well; and it may have paid off. Cowboy is good on the ground too, seeing as he has had some GNP finishes and subs as well. I was worried that maybe Nate wasn't as good somewhere in there and if Cerrrone hurt him bad enough, Nate might turtle up. But out of respect, ego, and/or anger, the Cowboy didn't choose to take that path. And I am happier for that than anything else in the fight.
Nate finally gets the nod on the judges cards for a well deserved win! Rite on!!
To finally hear a commentator(Goldie) say there might be 2 Diaz champs next year, made me laugh since Ive been saying it for a while now.
Yeah, perhaps but I tend to think that Diaz just pulled Ceronne out of his game plan. In the presser Cerrone put all the props on Nate rather than his own mistakes. He might be right.
I never expected the Cowboy to be so humble after losing to Diaz. He did mention something about doing it again in the future. I might be mistaken but I thought I heard him mumble something about gettin in there again with that sum-bitch; before he cut himself off.
Always beeen a fan of Cowboy, and I've got nothing but respect for Cerrone now.
Huge Diaz fan since day 1 on the TUF house... If i had to fight either Diaz Bro and i had kicks like Cowboy, i would use them every chance i get, all fight long.
Watch either Diaz, they dont check kicks, they eat them... Thats a big part of any game plan to beat the diaz bro's in my opinion.
They do take some damage in an effort to inflict damage. It doesn't always seem like the right choice, but it works for them. And as long as it keeps working for them, they will more than likely keep doing it.
Good observation Hondata. Rite on! They eat the kick and counter immediately! It usually works to their advantage eventually. This is part of the reason their opponants slow down on the leg kicks as the fight progresses.
Ya know this site is full morons who wanted to hate on Nate. like him or not, Nate is one of the best 155 lb fighters on the planet. And he did it all with you retards hating on him. Why dont you hate on the boring fighters like clay guida and gay maynard who do nothing but hold on for dear life and hope to squeeze out a decision win.