UFC Ottawa: Donald Cerrone’s Striking Rules The Day Against a Very Game, Al Iaquinta

Al Iaquinta kept coming to the final horn, but the extremely rugged lightweight was outgunned by Donald Cerrone at UFC Ottawa.

Iaquinta came out and stood in the center of the Octagon for a moment, before proceeding with his attacks. Early on, Iaquinta pressed forward while Cerrone looked to counter. Cerrone scored with some leg kicks as well as his jab, and a small cut opened up under Iaquinta’s right eye. Before the round ended, Iaquinta shot in for a TD, but he was halted by a nicely timed knee.

Cerrone continued to fire in leg kicks in round two, but Iaquinta continued to move forward. A couple of minutes in, Iaquinta planted a couple of hard rights that appeared to stun Cerrone briefly. “Cowboy” settled in once again, and returend to throwing kicks and jabs. Late in the round, however, Iaquinta wobbled Cerrone with a big right hand.

“Cowboy” missed with a winging head kick not long into round three, and the bridge of Iaquinta’s nose incurred a cut moments later. Iaquinta scored with another right straight, but Cerrone ate it and continued to strike. By mid-round, Iaquinta’s face was pretty bloodied up, and Cerrone popped his head back with a left uppercut. Cerrone continued to punish Iaquinta with kicks, and then “Cowboy” put the fighter on his back with a stiff jab, shortly before the round ended.

Shortly into round four, Cerrone sent Iaquinta to the deck with a front kick to the face. The latter, however, got back to his feet, and a little while later, he connected with a big left hook. The action slowed somewhat as the round continued, but exchanges weren’t hard to find. By the time the round ended, Iaquinta’s face was a bloody mess once again.

Iaquinta came out hunting in round five, but had his advances hindered by kicks from Cerrone. “Cowboy” continued to score with his jab, and he grazed Iaquinta with another front kick to the face. With just over a minute to go, Iaquinta changed levels and tried for a single leg, but Cerrone defended. With less than 30 seconds left, Cerrone cranked up the offense rather than cruising until the final horn. “Cowboy” missed with a flying knee, but there was no doubt that Cerrone would receive the win.

Here are the complete results for UFC Ottawa.

Donald Cerrone def. Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46)

Derek Brunson def. Elias Theodorou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Shane Burgos def. Cub Swanson via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)

Merab Dvalishvili def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Walt Harris def. Sergey Spivak via TKO (punches & knees) R1, 0:50

Andrew Sanchez def. Marc-Andre Barriault via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Macy Chiasson def. Sarah Moras via TKO (punches) R2, 2:22

Vince Morales def. Aiemann Zahabi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Nordine Taleb def. Kyle Prepolec via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Matt Sayles def. Kyle Nelson via submission (arm-triangle-choke) R3, 3:16

Arjan Bhullar def. Juan Adams via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Cole Smith def. Mitch Gagnon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)