Donald Cerrone, the 10-time WEC veteran, had an outstanding performance in his UFC debut Saturday night, submitting Paul Kelly in the second round of their fight at UFC 126.
Cerrone's work on the ground to transition toward that submission was outstanding: He achieved full mount, then forced Kelly to buck up to get him off, then took Kelly's back, locked in a body triangle, and used punches from the bottom to soften Kelly up and eventually get his forearm under Kelly's neck.
The start of the fight was strange, as Kelly threw a punch while Cerrone was trying to touch gloves, and then Cerrone ducked under that punch and took Kelly down. It was a back-and-forth round from there, but at the end Cerrone was on top and landing elbows that opened a big cut.
And then came the impressive jiu jitsu skills Cerrone showed off in the second round. Cerrone improves to 14-3, while Kelly falls to 11-4.
Afterward Cerrone credited his coach and his gym mates.
"That's Greg Jackson's jiu jitsu," Cerrone said. "The best in the world -- my training partners are the best in the world."
Cerrone's work on the ground to transition toward that submission was outstanding: He achieved full mount, then forced Kelly to buck up to get him off, then took Kelly's back, locked in a body triangle, and used punches from the bottom to soften Kelly up and eventually get his forearm under Kelly's neck.
The start of the fight was strange, as Kelly threw a punch while Cerrone was trying to touch gloves, and then Cerrone ducked under that punch and took Kelly down. It was a back-and-forth round from there, but at the end Cerrone was on top and landing elbows that opened a big cut.
And then came the impressive jiu jitsu skills Cerrone showed off in the second round. Cerrone improves to 14-3, while Kelly falls to 11-4.
Afterward Cerrone credited his coach and his gym mates.
"That's Greg Jackson's jiu jitsu," Cerrone said. "The best in the world -- my training partners are the best in the world."