UFC on FOX 11: Cerrone vs. Barboza

Donald Cerrone (22-6) vs. Edson Barboza (13-1)

Donald Cerrone looks to build off two consecutive victories as he takes on Edson Barboza at UFC on FOX 11 in Orlando.

When Cerrone is focused and locked in at the task at hand, he is a very talented fighter with the potential to defeat anybody. In his last match against Adriano Martins on Jan. 25, Cerrone was absolutely dominant, delivering a vicious head kick knockout in the first round. He is the type of fighter that will not back down from anybody, and every time he is in the octagon, there is a good chance that the fight will end in dramatic style. Cerrone is an explosive athlete that does a terrific job of taking the fight to the mat. He will look to do that against Barboza, who also has the ability to end a fight with a single punch. He is on a three-fight winning streak of his own, and has been very convincing in all three of those wins. He scored a majority decision victory against Danny Castillo in his most recent fight on Dec. 14 at UFC on FOX 9, and is extremely confident heading into this matchup. But on Saturday night, look for the electric CERRONE to be on top of his game and get another impressive victory.

"Cowboy" Cerrone has 22 wins in his career, with 14 of those coming by way of submission, including seven by triangle choke. He also has three knockout victories, and has tallied five wins by decision. While the Denver-born Cerrone has the ability to win a fight in many different ways, he will need to be careful of allowing this fight to turn into a brawl. His biggest advantage in this match is his ability to take the match to the ground, where he has a takedown average of 1.61, compared to only 0.75 for Barboza. He has an even bigger advantage when it comes to submission, averaging 1.96 compared to 0.19 for Barboza. The 6-foot Cerrone is one inch taller than Barboza, and does a great job of using his athleticism of taking his opponents to the ground. If he is able to take this fight to the mat, the 31-year-old Cerrone will be in great shape, as Barboza does not have a lot of experience on his back. However, if Cerrone gets baited into a brawl, Barboza will be very difficult to beat.

"Junior" Barboza comes into this match with 13 career victories, with nine of them coming by way of knockout. He also has three wins by decision, but only one by submission. The Brazilian-born fighter with the Muay Thai background in fighting has been able to win matches quickly with six first-round victories. While the 28-year-old will have only a small advantage when it comes to significant strikes landed (3.99 to 3.82), his punches are much more vicious and deliver a lot more damage. Barboza is also a better striking defender (64%), compared to 56% for Cerrone, and is also very good at preventing the takedown, defending 83% of his opponent’s takedown attempts (64% for Cerrone). That is the key to the fight, because if Barboza is able to avoid getting taken to the ground, he will have a great chance to get the victory in this matchup between two fighters with identical -115 odds to win.