Cerrone Becomes First Fighter to Finish Cote with Strikes

Monster Energy’s Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone defeated Canadian Patrick Cote by TKO after moving up to Welterweight at UFC Fight Night 89 from the first UFC event in Ottawa, Canada at the TD Place Arena.

In the highly anticipated co-main event, Cerrone stepped into Cote’s homeland and still managed to deliver one of his best performances of his career. Cote, a former light heavy weight competitor and middleweight challenger, was the more powerful fighter against Cerrone who fought for the Lightweight belt last year.

Despite the physical advantages for Cote coming in as the bigger and more powerful fighter, Cerrone dominated for two-and-a-half rounds proving he was the quicker and more versatile striker dropping Cote twice with punches before the knockdown that led to the third-round ground-and-pound stoppage making Cerrone the first fighter to finish Cote with strikes. With this, Cerrone hit his 15th stoppage victory in UFC/WEC competition and also earned his 17th UFC/WEC fight-night bonus – the most for both in the combined history of the two organizations, and walked away with a $50,000 bonus.