Submission Underground: Donald Cerrone Stuns Rafael dos Anjos By Submitting Him Twice

Donald Cerrone may be on a bad spell inside the UFC. However, he is showing everyone that his skills as a jiu-jitsu practitioner are as good as ever. Despite going without a win in his last five fights, Cerrone finally picked up a win in an unfamiliar area for most UFC fans.

Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground put on a stacked card for their final show of 2020. This show also saw people like Ryan Bader and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson face off against each other. However, one of the biggest talking points heading out of the show was the matchup between Cowboy and Rafael dos Anjos.

Cowboy and RDA entered overtime after neither man could tap the other in the allotted five-minutes. For his second OT submission, Cerrone opted to be in the position for an armbar. After he sinched the hold in, the referee gave him the win, citing a tap from RDA.

However, RDA protested the decision.

The two would then give the fans their money’s worth by coming back after the main event to settle their match. Cerrone would win convincingly this time, getting an audible tap from RDA in their second encounter of the day.

Donald Cerrone: Does this mean anything for his UFC career?

Considering RDA just came off an impressive win himself, this does look like Cerrone has something to offer. This encounter came almost exactly five years after RDA and Cerrone met inside the UFC cage. While RDA won that bout, Cowboy has proven he has superior BJJ.

But just having good BJJ isn’t what will cut it for Cowboy. He is too good for the young guys to beat, but not good enough to beat the other top guys. This puts him in a weird situation where he is killing the momentum of young fighters, but not doing anything with it himself.

Hopefully, we see the Cowboy of old again return to the UFC soon. Even if he doesn’t, fans will nonetheless appreciate him for his years of service. There is a reason he has the most fights in UFC history, after all.