MMA

Cerrone back in the win column; Njokuani upsets Horodecki

Posted By Marcos Villegas on the Dec 22 2009

Las Vegas, NV— Donald Cerrone took his first step on the comeback trail to a second world title as he submitted Ed “9mm” Ratcliff in a bout plagued with point deductions. Coming live from the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cerrone immediately locked into a clinch in attempt to nullify the heavy hands of his opponent in round one. Ratcliff had different plans landing a variety of strikes; two of which hurt his opponent. Ratcliff seemed to be getting the upper hand midway through the bout until his momentum came crashing down, by way of a knee to the bread basket. Ratcliff took a moment to pause but would eat another knee to the groin that resulted in a point deduction for Cerrone. At the start of round two, Cerrone opened up with his trademark kicks making their presence felt. You had to wonder if the shots to the groin had affected Ratcliff as he seemed heavy footed. Just when you thought we had seen the last of shots to the groin, Cerrone accidentally landed another one from the clinch that collapsed his opponent. It prompted referee Herb Dean to deduct another point in favor of Ratcliff. With Cerrone seeing himself down two points in two rounds he amped up his pressure on his opponent by landing a beautiful flying knee. He attempted to close out the round with a D’arce choke, and by the third it was all Cerrone, as Ratcliff appeared broken and gassed. With his opponent on the ground, Cerrone attempted a knee bar and shifted to his opponents back to secure a rear naked choke. Ratcliff was forced to tap in what would have been a close decision due to the point deductions. Cerrone apologized for the knees after the fight, “The knees weren’t intentional,” he said. Ratcliff did not use the groin shots as an excuse for the lost, “I ain’t making no excuses,” Ratcliff said. “He did what he was supposed to do.”

 

Njokuani kills the hype behind Horodecki

 

Anthony Njokuani made a name for himself as a threat to be reckoned with by disposing the much talked about Chris Horodecki. The 22 year old Canadian export was suppose to make a big splash in his WEC debut. He sank as fast as the Titanic. Njokuani was the faster, better man on this night. He used his God given talents of height, speed, and reach to easily avoid taking damage from the much slower Horodecki. Njokuani made good use of his jab early on and caught the “Polish Hammer,” with a hip throw that put in motion the end of the fight. Horodecki scrambled to his feet but in a strange move ran away from his advancing opponent. Njokuani unleashed a brutal kick that caught Horodecki on the grill. Horodecki recovered but was taking massive amounts of damage from the top and it was all she wrote as referee Steve Mazzagatti said “that’s it kid,” and stopped the bout. Horodecki suffers his second defeat in his young MMA career as the elder Njokuani moves to 12-2.

 

Benavidez delivers a quick KO over Yayha

 

The heavy handed and wild swinging Joseph Benavidez proved to be too aggressive for Rani Yahya. The more technically sound Yayha used his jab at the beginning of the bout to keep his opponent guessing. Benavidez kept with it and after mostly hitting air, a right hook finally made through to the chin of his opponent. Yayha immediately fell to the ground where all he could do was cover up. Benavidez admitted after the bout that he did not want to take the fight to the ground, “The key was to stay on my feet as much as I could."

 

Mizugaki excites yet again, but drops decision to Jorgensen

 

No one can question the heart of Takeya Mizugaki. The fans are always guaranteed to watch a great bout with whoever he is paired with. On this night Scott Jorgensen was the better man, building momentum early to solidify a three round decision over the Japanese fighter. Jorgensen nailed Mizugaki early in the first round with sneaky short hook that sent him down. Jorgenson rushed in and attempted to end the fight with a guillotine but Mizugaki quickly got out of it. Jorgensen would land another huge shot that would put down his opponent again and from then on out he would not garner the necessary momentum to win the fight. Jorgensen would use effective wrestling to take down the Shooto star in the second and though Mizugaki would one up him in the third, the early lead could not be overcome. Jorgensen was announced the unanimous decision winner (29-28) and stated his desire to fight the best in the bantamweight division, saying that he was “coming,” for the current title holder Brian Bowles.     

 

In the undercard:

Erik Koch def. Jameel Massouh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brad Pickett def. Kyle Dietz via Peruvian necktie in R2 (4:36)

Brandon Visher def. Courtney Buck via TKO in R1 (4:45)

Chad George def. John Hosman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Zach Micklewright def. Muhsin Corbbrey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bart Palaszewski def. Anthony Pettis via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)