Many an MMA fan will awake to some invigorating news this morning when they arise to discover the UFC Vancouver main event of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Justin “The Hightlight” Gaethje. Dana White confirmed the bout to Yahoo Sports Thursday morning.
UFC Vancouver takes place September 14 from the Rogers Arena and will stream exclusively on ESPN+.
Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje are adjoined in the rankings with Cerrone occupying the #4 position and Gaethje ranked at #5. The fight makes sense from a rankings perspective and it most certainly makes sense from an entertainment perspective. Justin Gaethje has never competed in a UFC bout that didn’t net a bonus, and it’s difficult to believe that would change in a five-round fight with Donald Cerrone.
Justin Gaethje is now coming off of back-to-back knockouts over James Vick and Edson Barboza and has never looked better. A victory over Donald Cerrone would without question inch Gaethje ever closer to a coveted lightweight championship bout.
Donald Cerrone’s return to the lightweight division at the top of the year started with a bang, with Cerrone knocking out hot young prospect Alexander Hernandez in the second round. Cerrone would go on to defeat Al Iaquinta impressively in his next bout, earning him a date with #2-ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson at UFC 238. Cerrone lost this fight via doctor’s stoppage, but in classic Cowboy fashion he is getting right back on the horse and headed to his next fight, which could potentially turn out to be the most exciting fight in Cerrone’s illustrious career.
With the addition of this blockbuster lightweight contest, the current UFC Vancouver card is as follows:
Main Event: Donald Cerrone vs. Justin Gaethje
Nikita Krylov vs. Glover Teixeira
David Branch vs. Andrew Sanchez
Todd Duffee vs. Jeff Hughes
Augusto Sakai vs. Marcin Tybura
Misha Cirkunov vs. Jim Crute
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Uriah Hall
Who you got? Donald Cerrone or Justin Gaethje?
