D. Cerrone (left) faces A. Cowboy (right) in the main fight of UFC FN 83, Photo: Josh Hedges
It looks like a western film, but it's not. UFC Fight Night 83, an event that will take place this Sunday (21), in Pittsburgh, will have as its main fight a Cowboys duel in the octagon.
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Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, the organization's veteran fighter and former lightweight title challenger, makes his welterweight debut against his lesser-known namesake, Brazilian Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira.
The unusual duel was agreed after a series of events. Run over by the champion Rafael dos Anjos in December, Cerrone announced he would move up to the welterweight division. Your original opponent would be Tim means, but the athlete was caught taking an anti-doping test and was removed from the card.
Thus, the UFC called up the Brazilian for the fight. Given the difference in background between the two, fans might even think that the marriage only crossed the minds of UFC bosses due to the marketing factor, to put two athletes with the same nickname face to face.
Even so, the combat has everything to be explosive. Cerrone is known for his sharp stand-up play, which has seen athletes such as Jim Miller, John makdessi and Brazilian Adriano Martins.
The big question is that the Brazilian Cowboy also showed quality in his striking in the fights he has had in the octagon. In his debut, being called up at the last minute to face the Gilbert Durinho, Cowboy worked for more than two rounds, but ended up submitting in the final moments of the fight. After that, however, he put together a three-fight winning streak, including a brutal knockout over Piotr Hallmann in November last year.
In the ground game, however, the advantage apparently belongs to the North American Cowboy. Cerrone has already finished 15 of his fights, with the Brazilian suffering two of his three defeats using this method. Either way, the Octagon in Pittsburgh is expected to witness a lively fight, which will determine who really is the best Cowboy in the UFC.
Brazilians in force at the event
D. Sarafian (photo) spent 2015 without fighting once. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Brazilian participation in UFC Pittsburgh goes far beyond Alex Cowboy. MMA veteran, Roan Jucão will be in action in the second most important fight of the night. Even though he comes off a good victory over Mark Muñoz a year ago, the Brazilian will have a tough time ahead against Derek Brunson, which comes from three consecutive victories.
Still on the main card, Augusto Tanquinho makes his UFC debut against the promising bantamweight cody garbrandt. Tanquinho came in at the last minute to replace fellow Brazilian John Lineker, who was cut from the card after contracting dengue fever in the final stretch of his training in Brazil.
The highlight of TUF Brasil 1 Daniel sarafian will make a decisive fight on the preliminary card. Coming from three defeats in the last five fights, the Brazilian will face Oluwale Bamgbose, who lost in his only fight in the UFC. If he is defeated in combat, Sarafian will be in a delicate position in the organization.
Finally, Leonardo “Leleco” Guimarães faces Anthony Smith in the fifth fight of the night. Smith entered the fight at short notice to replace the injured Trevor Smith.
Check out the UFC Fight Night 83 technical sheet below:
DATE AND TIME: Early morning on 21/02/2016, starting at 19pm (Brasília time)
PLACE: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
STREAMING: Combat Channel
MAIN CARD
Welterweights: Donald Cerrone x Alex Cowboy
Medium: Derek Brunson x Roan Jucão
Roosters: cody garbrandt x Augusto Tanquinho
Feathers: Dennis Bermudez x Tatsuya Kawajiri
Medium: Chris Camozzi x Joe Riggs
Mild: James Krause x Shane Campbell
PRELMINARY CARD
Welterweights: Alex Garcia x Sean Strickland
Medium: Daniel sarafian x Oluwale Bamgbose
Medium: Anthony Smith x Leonardo “Leleco”
Welterweights: Jonavin Webb x Nathan Coy
Roosters: Marion Reneau x Ashlee Evans-Smith
Roosters: Lauren Murphy x Kelly Faszholz
Heavy: Anthony Hamilton vs Shamil Abdurakhimov
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