ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone are world-class, professional entertainers -- and absolute savages in the cage.
The two met in a welterweight clash at UFC 214 on Saturday inside Honda Center in what was billed as a bout between fan favorites. It was Lawler who ultimately came out on top, earning a unanimous decision. But if the result bothered Cerrone, he certainly didn't show it.
"That was fun," said Cerrone, as he walked past press row immediately after.
Lawler (29-11), who hadn't fought since he lost the title to Tyron Woodley last July via first-round knockout, came out hard at the opening bell. He swarmed Cerrone in a clinch and dirty-boxed, landing short right hands as he controlled the back of Cerrone's head.
Cerrone (32-10) suffered a small mouse under his left eye but emerged in relatively good shape. He started to pick away at Lawler with knees and scored a takedown midway through the first round. He would attempt to wrestle more later in the fight, but Lawler shut it down.
The second round clearly went to Cerrone, as Lawler might have even been conserving energy. Cerrone went to work with the right head kick and more knees on the inside.
That momentum didn't last, however, as Lawler, who fights out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, went back to smothering Cerrone in the third. He backed Cerrone up throughout the last five minutes, taking away that effective high head kick.
All three judges scored the fight for Lawler 29-28. Fans booed the decision, but ESPN also scored it 29-28 for Lawler. The crowd cheered for both, alternatively, during the fight.
Lawler picks up his first win since a Fight of the Year candidate, split-decision win over Carlos Condit in January 2016. Cerrone is now winless in his past two fights.
Oezdemir shocks Manuwa, shakes up light heavyweight division again
Volkan Oezdemir has done it again.
The Swiss light heavyweight shook up the division on Saturday, knocking out Jimi Manuwa in just 42 seconds. The victory comes just two months after Oezdemir (15-1) knocked out Misha Cirkunov, a highly touted 205-pound prospect.
Manuwa (17-3) had been in line for a UFC title shot, but that's obviously gone now. He pressed Oezdemir into a clinch early but ate a solid left hook and left uppercut that sent him retreating backward. He tried to back Oezdemir off with a looping punch, but Oezdemir came in with a clean left hook that knocked him down.
Manuwa's head ricocheted off the canvas, and Oezdemir finished it off with two more hard shots that put him completely to sleep. It is Oezdemir's 11th knockout win.
The 27-year-old is now 3-0 in the UFC. Manuwa, of England, suffers his first loss since September 2015.
Lamas steamrolls Knight, earns TKO
Featherweight Ricardo Lamas clipped Jason Knight with an early right and did not let him off the hook, eventually securing a TKO stoppage at 4:34 of the first round.
Knight (20-3) did everything he could to survive, but Lamas (18-5) was superb in pursuing the finish. He stiffened the 25-year-old with a square left hook and landed several right-hand haymakers.
Knight, a native of Mississippi, looked angrily at referee Mike Beltran immediately afterward, but that could have been out of frustration. It was clear the bout had to be stopped.
Lamas, of Chicago, landed 41 total strikes, compared to Knight's 19. The 35-year-old has won three of his past four, with the only loss coming to current champ Max Holloway.