In which weight class is Cerrone most likely to  become a contender?

Yesterday we saw one Cowboy fall while another rouse to the occasion. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone got back into the win column with a triangle choke over Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. The fight favored Oliveira to start as the Brazilian rushed in with some well placed punches in the opening minutes of the fight. Once Cerrone got his head into the game he took the fight to the ground where he showed a significant advantage over his opponent. Soon Oliveira found himself tapping to a well placed Cerrone submission. Now I’m not willing to say that Cerrone is back to his old self, I will admit that the move to Welterweight could have been a fresh start for the perennial lightweight contender. As the UFC moves into the future and further separates itself from IV re-hydration, the likelihood of seeing more and more fighters move up a weight class is becoming a reality. There are tons of great matches for Cerrone at 170 lbs, Thiago Alves comes to mind in particular. The best thing for Cerrone is to keep busy and since fighting for a lightweight title is out of the question at this point then fighting at welterweight may be a great way for Cowboy to keep his skills sharp. Cerrone will be able to have great striking matches at 170 and he’ll definitely be able to sell tickets. The problem for Cerrone lies in what exactly he intends to do at lightweight once his stint at welterweight is over. The UFC lightweight belt will be up for grabs when reigning champ Rafael dos Anjos faces off against the brash Conor McGregor. Cowboy’s chances at getting another title shot may rest completely on whether Conor McGregor can pull out a victory. Even if McGregor does win, it could be hard for Cerrone to secure a title fight simply because the Irishman may have big plans to head over to welterweight to possibly battle for the belt. It could likely be some time before we see Cerrone in a title fight again. Do you think Donald Cerrone can earn his way back to a championship match? Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Follow him on Twitter to keep up with his exploits.