LAS VEGAS -- Put it down as just another day at the office for Donald Cerrone.
Cerrone (26-6) turned in a well-rounded effort Saturday night, handing the 26-year-old Myles Jury his first professional loss via unanimous decision at UFC 182 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena. All three judges scored the fight a shutout for Cerrone, 30-27.
The spotlight might have had an impact on Jury (15-1), as he was hesitant at times in the lightweight bout -- even in the final round, when it was clear he needed a finish.
More than the spotlight, though, Cerrone simply proved to be the superior fighter. He peppered Jury's legs with kicks throughout the bout, stuffed almost all his attempts to take the fight to the ground and, when he did go to the ground, nearly submitted Jury via rear-naked choke.
Fighting out of San Diego, Jury looked to wrestle early and often. He caught a leg kick and worked it into a takedown in the opening minute. Cerrone quickly went for an omoplata, which he eventually used to sweep and move into side control.
From there, Cerrone easily transitioned to Jury's back and into a body triangle. He fished for a rear-naked the majority of the round, before switching to a failed armbar attempt in the final seconds of the frame.
The second round saw Cerrone clearly establish the leg kick, along with the occasional lead right. Jury connected on a few grazing shots, including his signature right hand, but never landed clean. In the final round, Cerrone landed the strike of the night, popping Jury with a head kick that somehow didn't put him down.
In the final 30 seconds, Cerrone barreled through Jury to score a takedown and finished the fight winding up hard on kicks as Jury laid on his back.
Prior to the fight, Cerrone said he was open to a bout with undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0). UFC champion Anthony Pettis is scheduled to defend his title against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 on March 14.
Tavares topples Marquardt
Offensive came at a premium in a snoozer between Brad Tavares and Nate Marquardt.
Tavares (13-3) ultimately earned a unanimous decision over Marquardt (33-14-2) in an achingly slow fight. Boos rained down throughout the 185-pound contest, which all three judges eventually scored 30-27 for Tavares.
Neither fighter demonstrated much urgency, although Tavares did have some late moments as Marquardt tired. Fighting out of Las Vegas, Tavares hobbled Marquardt's lead leg with inside and outside kicks and scored a pretty clean left head kick late in the third round.
A former title contender in his prime, Marquardt, 35, looked terrible coming off his first win since 2012. He ended a three-fight losing skid with a first-round submission over James Te Huna in June, but any momentum from that victory is long gone following this performance.
The two middleweights traded a few leg kicks at the start of the fight and Marquardt landed his best strike of the night midway through the first when he snuck a front kick under Tavares' chin. Tavares wore the shot well though, and even waved Marquardt forward after it landed.
The jab started to find a home for Tavares in the middle frame. He opened a cut near Marquardt's right eye and started to mix things up well between the jab and the leg kick. Rarely, however, did he go for much more, relying mostly on one strike at a time.
Tavares, 27, snaps a two-fight skid. Prior to the back-to-back losses, he had won five in a row in the Octagon. Marquardt drops to 1-4 in his last five.
Horiguchi earns fourth UFC win
Japanese flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi dominated Louis Gaudinot en route to his fourth UFC win.
Horiguchi (15-1) entered the 125-pound fight as a 5-to-1 betting favorite and certainly played the part over the course of three rounds. He never came close to a finish, but outclassed Gaudinot in every aspect of the fight to earn unanimous scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
The bout was not always a crowd-pleaser -- especially early, as both flyweights looked to establish the range they wished to fight at. Gaudinot (6-4) mostly played the role of aggressor, chasing Horiguchi across the Octagon several times while trying to find him with combinations.
"I'm happy to win the fight but I couldn't knock him out so I'd just like to say sorry to the fans watching tonight," Horiguchi said. "I don't know what is in my future but I'm ready to take on whoever the UFC puts in front of me."
Horiguchi was technically too much, however, easily circling away from the majority of Gaudinot's offense. At one point, Gaudinot leapt into a standing arm-triangle attempt, but it was never close and Horiguchi casually shrugged him off moments later.
The 24-year-old ratcheted up his offensive output in the second round, hurting his opponent with a stiff right hand that also opened a small cut under Gaudinot's left eye. He started to land more frequently with front kicks to the body and nearly hurt Gaudinot with a left head kick.
Horiguchi has mostly cruised thus far in the UFC and has not lost a bout since January 2012. He appears poised to break into the top 10 of the division in 2015.
Gaudinot, a member of "The Ultimate Fighter 14" reality series, officially drops to 2-2 in the Octagon.
Lombard cuts through Burkman
Although he didn't really light the arena on fire, Hector Lombard improved to 3-0 as a UFC welterweight.
Lombard (35-4-1) cruised to a unanimous decision over Josh Burkman via official judges' scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. The American Top Team product has now taken out Burkman, Jake Shields and Nate Marquardt since dropping to 170 pounds in 2013.
It was a bit of a strange fight, as Burkman (27-11) fought evenly with Lombard in the first round but fell apart as things progressed. In the second, he repeatedly dropped his hands and dared Lombard to hit him, but looked sluggish in any attempts to counter.
"I think it was OK [that] he was running; he's an awkward guy to fight and all he wanted to do was run," Lombard said. "He came to survive -- he didn't come to fight.
"Next, I'm going to fight whoever gets me to the title. If that means I'd have to fight Robbie Lawler, that's something we'd have to discuss with our coaches."
Burkman, who returned to the UFC for the first time since 2008, gave ground early in the fight, forcing Lombard to stalk him the first five minutes. He landed a few inside leg kicks and straight counters, while Lombard answered with straight lefts and a few swarming flurries.
After a competitive first round, however, the 34-year-old Burkman appeared fatigued. He continually hung out with his back to the fence, covering up from Lombard punches while occasionally throwing a wild counter right hand. Lombard bloodied Burkman's nose midway through the round and hurt him at one point with uppercuts and right hooks.
The third frame was no better for Burkman. He surrendered a takedown in the first 30 seconds, although managed to work back to his feet one minute later. He failed to land any offense, however, and Lombard finished the fight with a few good combinations near the cage.
After the bout, Burkman pointed to several pre-fight injuries that might have impacted his performance.
"He did what I expected I just didn't do what I expected," Burkman said. "I had the worst camp of my life -- I sprained my ankle, I hurt my hip, dislocated a rib and got sick so I had to go on antibiotics. But I'm a man of my word and I signed to fight Hector Lombard and that's exactly what I did. Hector is also one hell of a fighter."
ESPN.com ranked Lombard, a former Bellator MMA middleweight champion, the No. 5 welterweight in the world coming into the bout. Burkman drops to 1-2 in his last three fights and 5-6 all time in the UFC.