LAS VEGAS -- Donald Cerrone collected his eighth consecutive win Saturday and potentially solidified himself as the UFC's next lightweight contender.
Now comes the hard part: waiting for his next fight.
Cerrone (28-6), the most active fighter in the UFC since 2011, finished John Makdessi via TKO at 4:44 of the second round at UFC 187 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The finish came when Cerrone landed a left head kick that appeared to break Makdessi's jaw. The Canadian lightweight signaled he was done as soon as the strike landed.
The fight was originally supposed to feature Cerrone against undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the Dagestani was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. Makdessi (13-4), who recently fought at UFC 186 in Montreal, attempted to make a successful 28-day turnaround.
"If you're in the UFC, you're one of the baddest dudes around," Cerrone said of Makdessi. "He's an awesome dude -- punched hard too."
Cerrone extended what was already the longest active win streak in the division. It was his 18th fight in the Octagon and third this year.
"That's who I am," Cerrone said. "I keep fighting. I might get this title by default sooner or later."
The 32-year-old was sensational in the second-round TKO, as he landed kicks to Makdessi's legs, body and head seemingly at will. The left head kick was his most dangerous weapon, but he added punching combinations, knees and a nasty-looking elbow that he threw like a straight right in the second round.
Makdessi, who in addition to the short notice faced a significant height and reach disadvantage, scored points of his own with the jab and leg kicks, but none of his strikes appeared to hurt Cerrone or even slow him.
After the finish, Cerrone said he fought injured, though he did not immediately reveal what the injury was.
"[Nothing was surprising], other than me being the most injured I've ever been for a fight in my life," Cerrone said. "The whole camp I was injured. I'm glad my team stuck with me."
UFC president Dana White told ESPN.com that Cerrone will be Rafael dos Anjos' next challenger for the lightweight title. Dos Anjos (24-7) lifted the 155-pound title from Anthony Pettis in a unanimous round win in March. Dos Anjos suffered a knee injury prior to the fight but has avoided surgery and is expected back in the fall.
Arlovski stops Browne in slugfest
Friends and former training partners Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski agreed to put their relationship aside for one night, and did they ever.
In one of the wildest rounds of the year, Arlovski (24-10) finished Browne via TKO with 19 seconds left in the first. Referee Mark Smith stopped the fight while Browne stood with his back to the fence, absorbing shots.
"Man, I was tired. I almost quit," Arlovski said. "There were so many punches being thrown, and I was so tired."
It was a difficult situation for the two heavyweights, who previously trained together at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Last year, Browne (17-3-1) elected to leave the camp and train at Glendale Fighting Club in Glendale, California.
Arlovski seized early momentum when he hit Browne with a counter right hand during an early exchange. Browne, 32, retreated hard from the shot and arguably never fully recovered. He came back with punches of his own moments later, but even when he connected, it was Arlovski's counter shots in the pocket that landed clean.
With about two minutes left in the round, Arlovski rocked Browne again with a right hand and looked to finish him along the cage. Hurt, Browne responded with a monster right haymaker that dropped Arlovski upon impact. The former UFC champion popped back to his feet and went right back to assaulting Browne in tight space.
Referee Smith started to warn Browne of an impending stoppage as the shots piled up. Ultimately, a right uppercut and right cross prompted Smith to step in.
Arlovski, 36, is enjoying a career resurgence and extended his win streak to five. Since re-signing with the UFC last year, he is 3-0 with wins over Browne, Antonio Silva and Brendan Schaub. Browne is now 1-2 in his past three fights.
Benavidez handles Moraga by decision
A trilogy flyweight title fight between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson continues to feel like something of an inevitability.
Benavidez (22-4) remained perfect in non-title UFC fights on Saturday by out-classing another former title contender in John Moraga over the course of three rounds. All three judges saw the fight a shutout for Benavidez 30-27, and they awarded him his third consecutive win.
Fighting out of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, Benavidez took a few lumps on the feet but dominated Moraga (16-4) on the ground for the victory. He took him down in each of the fight's three rounds and racked up points with elbows and punches from top position.
"I think I caught him with a right hook really early," Benavidez said. "That's my power punch that tends to hurt most people. That first ground exchange was because I rocked him, not because I tried to take him down. He fought really well for saying he was dizzy the whole fight."
Moraga agreed.
"I didn't do what I had to do," Moraga said. "I wanted to come out aggressive and stay on my feet. He didn't surprise me with anything, but he caught me right away behind my ear. I don't know what it was, but I was dizzy the rest of the fight after that. I was trying to get my wits back about me, but it never happened."
Moraga posed a major threat in the third round, when he came out aggressively, knowing he was down on the scorecards. He caught Benavidez with several punches in the pocket but couldn't knock him down. After one exchange, he leapt into a flying knee attempt, which Benavidez met halfway with a side kick to the body.
On the ground, though, there was little drama, as Benavidez completely smothered the Arizona native. Moraga attempted a couple guillotines from the bottom, but Benavidez has never been submitted in his nine-year professional career, and he never came close to a tap.
"I thought I would be the faster guy out there, and I feel like I was with my hand speed," Benavidez said. "He has got great distance control. He feels like a veteran out there. You never know about someone until you get out there with them. He's one of the top guys in the division, and he has fought the best in the world. He is a true gamer."
Benavidez, 30, has only lost to two opponents in his career: current flyweight champ Johnson and former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. He is 9-2 overall in the UFC, with four finishes. Moraga saw a two-fight win streak snapped.
"It doesn't make sense for me to call anyone out, other than the matchmakers," Benavidez said. "If you want to fight me, tell the matchmakers, and let's make it happen. I've only been fighting twice per year, and I want to fight again soon."
Dodson bounces back to edge Makovsky
John Dodson secured a win in his first fight since undergoing ACL surgery in July, but he did not look particularly good doing so.
Dodson (17-6) earned unanimous 29-28 scores from all three judges against Zach Makovsky but struggled to find his rhythm. It was his first appearance in nearly 12 months.
The Las Vegas crowd heavily booed the 125-pound contest, which featured a combined total of 54 landed strikes, according to immediate cageside stats. The first round was particularly slow, as the two flyweights felt each other out at a distance.
"I'm not excited about my performance," Dodson said. "I looked like a guy coming off a long layoff. I threw a lot of punches and tried to hit him as hard as I could. I just wasn't firing on all cylinders."
Training out of Tristar Gym, Makovsky (19-6) looked to utilize his wrestling in the later rounds, but Dodson's takedown defense proved to be too good. Makovsky managed to drag him down late in the second round, but Dodson popped up and, looking to get the points right back, eventually lifted Makovsky off the floor and slammed him.
Dodson's comfort level grew in the final round but only slightly so. He started to blitz Makovsky here and there from a distance, but he never really landed a significant shot. He scored several knees in the clinch after running Makovsky to the fence and another knee to the head after sprawling on a takedown.
"I thought it was close," Makovsky said. "When I'm in there, I don't really have an idea of how it's going. I'm just focused on what I have to do. I was told it was 1-1 going into the third round, but I will have to watch it and see what I think. I thought I landed the cleaner shots, landed more shots. He had one big takedown, but I thought I did more."
The Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter was expected to fight Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at the time of his injury. He remains an attractive option, having now gone 6-1 in the UFC. His only loss came via decision to Johnson (22-2-1) in a failed title bid in January 2013.
"I'm still happy I got the win and hope a title shot is next," Dodson said. "I'll be a totally different fighter against Demetrious Johnson, and I will throw everything at him."
Kim submits Burkman in Round 3
In a fight far more tame than his past three, Dong Hyun Kim looked terrific in a submission win over Josh Burkman.
Kim (20-3-1), who turned into a brawling action fighter out of nowhere in late 2013, turned in a more measured performance Saturday. The finish came at 2:13 of the third round, via arm-triangle choke. It was the second submission of Kim's career.
"I planned for many different scenarios, but he came out with a plan that really benefitted me," Kim said. "I was very well prepared for the fight."
The South Korean welterweight took Burkman's back in the first round, while he was still on his feet. Kim got his hooks in and threatened with a rear-naked choke, but Burkman managed to escape the hold.
Burkman (27-11) came out throwing leather in the second round, but Kim avoided eating a big shot and eventually took him down. He forced Burkman to turtle near the fence, where he landed left hands to the side of his head.
Early in the third, Kim ate a big right hand, followed by a flying knee. He smiled and waved Burkman forward, but it was obvious he was rocked. The 34-year-old Burkman didn't take advantage though, as he backed off and allowed Kim to reset. He surrendered a takedown moments later.
"It looked like he rocked me in the third round, but I never felt threatened at all," Kim said. "After the first round, I could feel that he was gassed out. I could feel how tired he was, and I knew that I would win the fight after that. I've won 11 fights with the UFC, and I'm really looking to get on the Seoul card now. Please UFC, put me on that card, and let it be for a title contender position."
Kim, 33, is now 5-1 in his past six fights. Prior to defeating Burkman, he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Tyron Woodley in August.
"I thought I was really close to finishing him in the third round, especially after he bent over," Burkman said. "I tried to hit him with an uppercut and then regroup, but his clinch is just too tough. He's so strong, especially in the clinch, and it really wore me out. I trained to pop up off his clinch, but I was too tired and couldn't do it."
Natal pulls upset of Hall
Rafael Natal earned the biggest win of his UFC career by upsetting Uriah Hall via split decision in a middleweight fight.
Natal (19-7-1) lost the first round but rallied to take the final two, according to two of the cageside judges. ESPN.com scored the fight for Hall 29-28.
"He was trying to prove that he was better," Natal said. "I don't like that type of stuff, but this is fighting, and it happens sometimes, even though it's really not my thing. I'd rather do my talking in the Octagon."
The Brazilian was unquestionably the more active of the two. According to cageside stats, Natal threw 119 total strikes, compared to 81 for Hall. Natal out-landed Hall 57-43.
Natal's volume might have been the biggest factor in the win, as Hall's output slowed over time. He scored with kicks to the head and body in the first round and did well defending takedowns, but Hall looked a little tired midway through the fight and struggled to pull the trigger at times.
Natal scored a strong, double-leg takedown 90 seconds into the middle round. He moved into Hall's full guard and landed a few elbows before Hall eventually managed to stand. Hall would take Natal down later in the round but did little with it.
Hall came into the third round light on his feet and bouncing around almost in an attempt to infuse some energy into the bout. Natal proved to be more of the aggressor, however, and exchanges were fairly close. Natal attempted several takedowns in the final round, to no avail.
The Brazilian extends his current win streak to three. Hall, a former runner-up on "The Ultimate Fighter," fell to 3-3 in the UFC.
"Let's see what's next -- maybe Michael Bisping," Natal said. "He has been talking bad about me."
