Last week (Sat. January 19, 2019) Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone picked up yet another victory. He finished Alexander Hernandez via second-round TKO. Now, Cerrone has picked up back-to-back wins in his last pair of appearances. In turn, Hernandez has lost the first fight of his UFC run. That marks the 26-year-old’s first defeat of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in nearly six years.
Speaking to MMA Junkie just a week later, Hernandez was asked about a possible rematch with Cerrone down the line. The young 155-pounder said the idea sounds extraordinary:
“(A rematch) would be extraordinary,” Hernandez said. “That would be so (expletive) sweet. I don’t know. If it does, beautiful. If it doesn’t, I understand why it wouldn’t. Either way, it was a learning lesson and if it wasn’t this one, it would’ve been the next one, because the approach that I have has to change.”
Hernandez went on to break down his defeat to Cerrone. He admitted that he opened himself up by getting careless, and acknowledges he should’ve utilized a smarter gameplan:
“I could see him starting to question things, question himself, and instead of sitting back and being patient, I had this idea in my head I had to get the next one,” Hernandez said. “Where I pressed, he was patient. I pressed to my demise, I gave him shots, I was forcing shots that weren’t there instead of picking the ones that were readily available if I played a smarter game.
“I started exposing myself to shots, giving shots, letting that clinch game open. That was kind of the edge of the fight. (I) landed a good elbow over the eye, and when you start to see someone leaking, it’s kind of this primal instinct and a big adrenaline buster. Y
“ou can taste the blood and when you make eye contact, it’s like, ‘Mother(expletive), I just gave this guy the edge.’ He knew it, too. I didn’t stop bringing it, and I should have slowed down at times. I got him on his heels moving, and I had it in my hands. To my own demise, I fell on my own sword.”
What do you think about a rematch between Hernandez and Cerrone?
