Beating the Odds: UFC on Fox 23

Jorge Masvidal could not have drawn it up any better.

The American Top Team mainstay pushed his already outstanding career to new heights, as he took care of Donald Cerrone with second-round punches in the UFC on Fox 23 co-main event on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Masvidal entered the cage as a +155 underdog, per BetDSI.com, and thrashed “Cowboy” like few others had before, burying him 60 seconds into Round 2.

Though he damaged Masvidal’s lead leg with a series of kicks, not much went right for “Cowboy.” Cerrone (-185) was leveled by a wicked three-punch volley from the Miami native in the closing seconds of the first round. Masvidal followed with punches and hammerfists, appearing to force the stoppage prior to the horn. However, referee Herb Dean allowed the fighters to retreat to their corners and signaled the fight would continue. Cerrone was in no condition to defend himself after the one-minute break between rounds, ate an overhand right from “Gambred” and met his end through a cringe-worthy burst of body blows along the fence.

Masvidal was one of three underdogs to spring upsets, along with former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Alexandre Pantoja and Millennia MMA rep Jason Gonzalez.

Pantoja (+100) picked his spots wisely. The 26-year-old Nova Uniao export utilized body and leg kicks, mixed in a few takedowns and fished for submissions, as he was awarded a split decision over Eric Shelton in their undercard battle at 125 pounds. Pantoja transitioned to the back in the first and second rounds, consolidating his move with attempted rear-naked chokes. Shelton (-123) had more gas in the tank over the final five minutes and punched well in combination, but his efforts were not enough to earn favor from judges Joe Garcia and Ben Ramirez.

Meanwhile, the scorecards were not in play for Gonzalez (+115), as the 30-year-old Californian submitted J.C. Cottrell with a brabo choke in the first round of their preliminary lightweight pairing. Gonzalez yielded a takedown and spent a substantial amount of time pinned beneath Cottrell (-137) before he freed himself from a poorly conceived inverted triangle and snatched the d’arce in the resulting scramble.