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Two aging but proud warhorses likely nearing their respective finish lines in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will square off when Donald Cerrone meets Joe Lauzon in the UFC on ESPN 37 lightweight co-main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Cerrone enters the cage winless over his past six outings, as he seeks his first victory in more than three years. “Cowboy” last competed at UFC on ESPN 24, where he bowed to punches from Alex Morono in the first round of their May 8, 2021 confrontation. Lauzon, meanwhile, has lost six of his past 10 bouts. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 semifinalist has not fought since he brought down Jonathan Pearce with punches at UFC on ESPN 6 in October 2019.
As Cerrone and Lauzon move ever closer to their looming battle at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
39: Years of age for Cerrone, who was born in Denver on March 29, 1983.
17: Cerrone wins by submission, accounting for 47% of his career total (36). His methods of choice: eight triangle chokes, five rear-naked chokes and four armbars. Cerrone holds 10 other wins by knockout or technical knockout and nine more by decision.
1,727: Significant strikes landed by Cerrone as a member of the UFC roster, placing him fourth on the promotion’s all-time list. Only Max Holloway (2,848), Frankie Edgar (1,799) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (1,754) have connected with more.
76: Seconds needed for Cerrone to cut down Melvin Guillard with a head kick and a follow-up punch at UFC 150 on Aug. 11, 2012. Nearly a decade later, it remains the fastest finish of the World Extreme Cagefighting alum’s stellar 54-fight career.
16: Consecutive calendar years in which Cerrone has fought at least once. He went 4-0 in 2006, 3-0 with one no contest in 2007, 2-0 in 2008, 2-2 in 2009, 2-1 in 2010, 4-1 in 2011, 2-0 in 2012, 2-2 in 2013, 4-0 in 2014, 3-1 in 2015, 4-0 in 2016, 0-3 in 2017, 2-1 in 2018, 2-2 in 2019, 0-2 with one no contest in 2020 and 0-1 in 2021.
38: Years of age for Lauzon, who was born on May 22, 1984 in Brockton, Massachusetts.
17: Lauzon victories by submission, accounting for 61% of his career total (28). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, four armbars, three triangle chokes, one heel hook, one ankle lock, one guillotine choke, one Achilles lock and one kimura. Lauzon owns nine other victories by knockout or technical knockout and two more by decision.
5: Sub-minute finishes on the Lauzon resume. He disposed of Kyle Sprouse with a heel hook in 26 seconds at Combat Zone 6 on June 26, 2004, dispatched Renat Myzabekov with an ankle lock in 40 seconds at Combat Zone 7 on July 10, 2004, put away Tim Honeycutt with punches in 11 seconds at Absolute Fighting Championships 13 on July 30, 2005, punched out Jens Pulver in 48 seconds at UFC 63 on Sept. 23, 2006 and tapped the aforementioned Guillard with a rear-naked choke in 47 seconds at UFC 136 on Oct. 8, 2011.
29: Submission attempts for Lauzon as a member of the UFC roster, putting him fourth on the organization’s all-time list. Only Jim Miller (45), Charles Oliveira (40) and Chris Lytle (31) have been credited with more.
43: Professional rounds completed by Lauzon as a mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on eight different occasions and carries a 2-6 record in those bouts.
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