Cerrone Cool Before Horodecki Clash

"All it takes is one punch to change the outcome of a fight. I think my wrestling and jiu-jitsu is way superior to Horodecki, so I really I think his only chance is in the striking aspect." The knock on Donald Cerrone used to be his wrestling skills, or lack thereof.

Not anymore. Fresh off the finest performance of his career, which saw him take down former collegiate wrestler Jamie Varner on several occasions, Cerrone has definitely served notice to future opponents that he can not only threaten with high-level kickboxing and jiu-jitsu, but also has the tools to put foes on their back. It is a new weapon that Canadian Chris Horodecki will have to cope with when he faces Cerrone on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Ariz.

“I’ve been drilling a lot of wrestling,” said Cerrone, 12-3, with 1 no contest. “It’s something I didn’t work on much before. I always hated wrestling, but now everyday I’ve been drilling it so that I can make my weakness my strength.”

Despite the leaps-and-bounds growth of Cerrone’s wrestling game, Horodecki’s impressions of the Coloradan’s game pay homage to the old Cerrone.

“He’s a Muay Thai striker with a good ground game,” said Horodecki (16-2), who will be seeking his third straight win inside of the Octagon.

If fans get lucky, this fight will play out exclusively as a standup war. Cerrone is a super-aggressive kickboxer who has worked closely with Duane Ludwig. Horodecki has been training under Shawn Thompkins since he was 13 years old and has seven wins via knockout. The 23-year-old Horodecki, who had previously studied to be a paramedic, is trying to regain the luster from several years ago, when he was widely regarded as Canada’s greatest MMA prospect who was not named Georges St-Pierre. Not known for his ground game, Horodecki has just two submission victories, but anyone trying to gauge his toughness needs to look no further than his two wins over lightweight standout Bart Palaszewski.

“I’m real excited,” Cerrone said. “He’s a standup guy and I think my standup is better than his so I’m excited to go in there and showcase that.”

Unlike the vitriol he harbors toward Varner, his arch nemesis, Cerrone struck a much different tone toward Horodecki.

“He’s a very tough opponent,” Cerrone said. “He knows how to win big fights. I really respect Chris as an opponent. He comes from a great camp.”

With this being his last WEC fight, Cerrone was jazzed about the chance to make a name for himself in the UFC. He realizes that many pro athletes and sports teams have letdowns following great performances and believes he has done everything he can to prevent a letdown against Horodecki.

“Absolutely, you need to be concerned about that,” he said. “Anything can happen in any given moment, that’s the great thing about this sport. All it takes is one punch to change the outcome of a fight. I think my wrestling and jiu-jitsu is way superior to Horodecki, so I really I think his only chance is in the striking aspect. So bring that (expletive) on, Chris.”

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Mendes Expecting Another Fight Before Title Shot

Chad Mendes: Jeff Sherwood | Sherdog.com

Chad Mendes delivered the biggest win of his career Nov. 11 when he outpointed Javier Vazquez at WEC 52, but the rising featherweight doesn’t expect his next bout to be for the belt.

“I’m guessing there’s going to be one more, at least one more fight, before any kind of title stuff,” Mendes said during a recent interview on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show.

Mendes is 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the WEC. A standout wrestler in college, he has only been fighting for two years, but it was conceivable that a win over Vazquez would garner him a title shot.

“Nobody important has told me that I’m next, so I’m just kind of going with the flow,” Mendes said. “I’ve said it before: If that’s what [Zuffa officials] want, I’m definitely down to do it. It’s what I’m training to do. It’s my job.”

Mendes won all three rounds against Vazquez on each judge’s scorecard. However, Vazquez might have deserved the first based on his activity from his back, which included numerous strikes. Still, throughout the fight, Mendes proved adept at thwarting Vazquez’s submission game.

“He definitely had the most active guard that I’ve been in,” Mendes said. “I never really felt in danger of any of the stuff he was doing.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Mendes appeared to do some of his best work on the feet.

“I definitely feel like I rocked him a few times,” he said. “He’d back up with me punching him and he would hit the cage and either shoot or … just pull guard. I definitely could have let him up a couple of times, I think.”

Mendes might have done more damage if he’d kept trading punches. Regardless, his success striking with Vazquez showed that he is continuing to become a better mixed martial artist.

“I got to let my hands go a little bit more than past fights,” he said. “I kind of wanted to keep it more standing, but I still have that instinct to just shoot when I get close enough, when I see it open. It’s still something I’m working on, but overall I felt good in there.”

In addition to demonstrating a varied skill set, Mendes pointed to improved cardio during the bout. He explained that he had done less powerlifting in training and packed on less muscle. Previously he had subscribed to the view that it’s an advantage to be as big and strong as weight cutting allows.

“In reality it’s not always the case,” Mendes said. “You cut that much weight, and by the time it’s time to compete, you feel like crap because your body’s drained. You’re just not able to train as hard as you could if you were eating and feeling good all the time.”

Mendes believes he’s found a good balance where he’ll come in with size but won’t be drained. He referenced UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as an example of a fighter who’s using a similar approach.

“I think a guy like Frankie Edgar is the type of person that performs well when he can eat and train at his best and not have to worry about cutting weight,” Mendes said. “I feel the same way. I personally hate cutting weight. I’ve been doing it for a really long time because of wrestling. I’ve just found that my body functions better when I can eat proper and train harder.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:28:00) with Mendes, who also discussed his upcoming transition to the UFC.

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