Top 5: Donald Cerrone Knockouts

Violent bursts of offense were always a Donald Cerrone specialty.

“Cowboy” was in prime form when he cut down Rick Story with a crushing head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their UFC 202 welterweight showcase on Aug. 20, 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Operating in the shadows of the Nate Diaz-Conor McGregor rematch, Cerrone closed out an electrifying performance 2:02 into Round 2.

Story was on the defensive from the start. Cerrone answered a first-round takedown from the former Southern Oregon University wrestler by threatening with a triangle choke and forcing the action back to the feet. Once there, he picked apart Story with a variety of strikes, from hard leg kicks and punishing body blows to hearty punches upstairs. Cerrone turned up the heat early in the second round, where he tore into the MMA Lab export with a dizzying multi-strike combination—it remains a fixture on Ultimate Fighting Championship highlight reels—to the body and head. A head kick punctuated the volley and sent Story careening into the cage. Cerrone then drove the Tacoma, Washington, native to the canvas and swept up the crumbs with punches.


“This is my favorite thing in the world to do,” he told Fox Sports 1 afterward. “The feeling of being scared to death and worried and hating it … I talk about retiring every single day. Then I go out there and do this, and I love it.”

More than nine years later, Cerrone’s avalanche against Story still ranks as one of his most memorable knockouts. Four more to consider:

Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller

UFC Fight Night 45
July 16, 2014 | Atlantic City, New Jersey
Cerrone put away the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder with a precise head kick in the second round of their main event at the Revel Casino. Miller, who had never before been knocked out, wilted 3:31 into Round 2. Cerrone set the stage for the finish by tirelessly working over the New Jersey native’s body. A front kick to the gut nearly sat down Miller early in the second round, though referee Dan Miragiliotta, thinking it had landed below the belt, paused the action and afforded him a brief respite. After the restart, Cerrone connected with another kick to the body that had his counterpart backpedaling and carrying his hands dangerously low. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout then targeted the head, a sickening thud of shin meeting skull marking the end of the line for Miller.

Donald Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote

UFC Fight Night 89
June 18, 2016 | Ottawa, Ontario
Cerrone cracked one of the sport’s true iron chins when he wrecked the Canadian with punches in the third round of their co-headliner at TD Place Arena. Stopped by strikes for the first time in 33 professional appearances, Cote withered 2:35 into Round 3. Cerrone kept “The Predator” off-balance by surprising him with a pair of fast-twitch takedowns in the first round. The World Extreme Cagefighting veteran progressed to the back and made a pass at a rear-naked choke before the first five minutes were up. Cote’s situation did not improve in Round 2, where “Cowboy” sent one kick after another into his lead leg and completed the first of his three knockdowns, a slashing left hook doing the honors. With two rounds in the bank, Cerrone stepped on the accelerator in the third round. Cote hit the mat twice. A left hook followed by two clubbing rights put him down for good, as Cerrone forced him to turtle and pounded away with right hands until referee Yves Lavigne had seen enough.

Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown

UFC 206
Dec. 10, 2016 | Toronto
Cerrone cast aside “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 alum with a head kick in the third round of their co-main event at the Air Canada Centre. Brown clocked out 34 seconds into Round 3. Cerrone overcame some adversity to get his hand raised: He escaped a triangle choke in the first round and ate a crushing overhand right in the second that briefly sat him down. However, he hammered away at Brown with a steady diet of kicks to the legs, body and head, leaving him with cuts near both eyes. The two rivals embraced in a show of respect at the start of Round 3. Moments later, Cerrone drilled the Elevation Fight Team rep with a counter right hook and caught him ducking. The head kick came next, and an unconscious Brown came to rest on the canvas as 18,057 fans were brought to their feet.

Donald Cerrone vs. Alexander Hernandez

UFC Fight Night 143
Jan. 19, 2019 | Brooklyn, New York
Cerrone dismissed the Factory X standout with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their featured prelim at the Barclays Center. Hernandez succumbed to blows 3:43 into Round 2, suffering his first setback in nearly six years. Experience paid enormous dividends for Cerrone, who weathered an early rush from the St. Louis native. “Cowboy” pieced together three-, four- and five-strike combinations, attacked the legs, body and head and pushed Hernandez backward. He was effective at range and in close quarters. In the second round, Cerrone fired a head kick through the Marc Montoya protégé’s defenses. The impact stunned and then felled Hernandez, leaving him vulnerable to subsequent punches. A series of right hands from Cerrone prompted referee Todd Anderson to intervene. It turned out to be the final finish of his remarkable career.