UFC on Fox 17: Dos Anjos silences critics with a one-sided victory over Cerrone

Every fight fan around the world went into UFC on FOX 17 hoping to finally witness Donald ‘The Cowboy’ Cerrone have the eluded belt around his waist, but to the despair coupled by the sheer skill of Rafael Dos Anjos – it didn’t happen.

The Lightweight Champion proved his detractors wrong by clinically beating down Cowboy and finishing the bout in 1:06 in the very first round. It was what the doctor ordered in Anjos' camp and he sure rose up to the occasion to deny Cerrone his destiny with a TKO (punches) victory.

In the co-main event of the evening, Junior Dos Santos made his much-anticipated return to the Octagon as he looked to settle old scores against fellow heavyweight Alister Overeem – both of whom have been involved in verbal tirades in the past.

Unfortunately for JDS, he looked out of place and was seen strolling around the Octagon without doing much damage to Reem. Overeem didn’t waste any time to drop JDS in the second round with a barrage of punches to announce himself as a title contender to be reckoned with.

Stockton bad boy, Nate Diaz added fuel to his claims for a title shot after he earned a unanimous decision victory over Michaels Johnson in a fun Lightweight Division bout.

Post-fight, Nate unleashed a not-so-appropriate onslaught of expletives directed towards Featherweight champion Conor McGregor and demanded he be handed the money fight before Joe Rogan cut him off.

All in all, the card saw points being made and futures being pushed to the brink of uncertainty apart from the solid action. Below are the complete results:

155 lbs. UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone -- Dos Anjos def. Cerrone by TKO (punches) at 1:06 of Round One
265 lbs.: Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem -- Overeem def. Dos Santos by TKO (punches) at 4:43 of Round Two
155 lbs.: Nate Diaz vs. Michael Johnson -- Diaz def. Johnson by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
135 lbs.: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Randa Markos -- Kowalkiewicz def. Markos by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

145 lbs.: Myles Jury vs. Charles Oliveira -- Oliveira def. Jury by submission (guillotine) at 3:05 of Round One
185 lbs.: C.B. Dollaway vs. Nate Marquardt -- Marquardt def. Dollaway by KO (punch) at 0:28 of Round Two
135 lbs.: Sarah Kaufman vs. Valentina Shevchenko -- Shevchenko def. Kaufman by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
185 lbs.: Tamdan McCrory vs. Josh Samman -- McCrory def. Samman by submission (triangle choke) at 4:10 of Round Three
155 lbs.: Danny Castillo vs. Nik Lentz -- Lentz def. Castillo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
145 lbs.: Jim Alers vs. Cole Miller -- No Contest (accidental eye poke)
170 lbs.: Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman -- Usman def. Edwards by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
170 lbs.: Hayder Hassan vs. Vicente Luque -- Luque def. Hassan by technical submission (anaconda choke) at 2:13 of Round One
265 lbs.: Luiz Henrique vs. Francis Ngannou -- Ngannou def. Henrique by KO (punch) at 2:53 of Round Two