Did anyone watch the fight? From what I've read, Cowboy won by either 4-1 or 3-2 depending on who you ask. And from what I'm reading, he was really putting a beating on Raging Al at a couple points in the fight. That's 3 in a row for Cowboy, with all 3 being very impressive results. I think it's safe to say he's put that 1-4 skid behind him. I remember him talking about getting into heavily into DMT and psychedelic mushrooms around the time he lost to Leon Edwards (last loss). As someone who has done LSD and mushrooms, I think its very possible those drugs have contributed to his turnaround in form. Psychedlics can totally transform your life, and Donald has been very public for years with how his mental hangups have costs him pivotal fights. And there's the small fact that he's fighting for his son. Huge win. Iaquinta was Top 5, so this puts him in a great spot, especially given the fact that he's a big star, and that Uncle Dana loves him. If a bout with Conor still can't be reached, I'd love to see the UFC do a sort of play offs season at lightweight. They could have Justin Gaethje fight Anthony Pettis. The winner of that fight could fight Cowboy. Why not? The tangled mess at the top with Khabib, Poirier, and Tony Ferguson will probably take another 12 months to sort out. And that mess will get even more complicated if Conor actually gets serious about fighting again.
I had it 4-1 and a few if those rounds were definitely 10-8s. Dominant performance from Cowboy. When he establishes his range and avoids making too many dumb mistakes he's nearly impossible to beat. Another performance like that and he just might upset the odds and win the belt.
It could be argued that Cowboy beat Al more decisively than Khabib . It was a completely different stylistic matchup, but Al's face and leg were severely damaged after this fight. It was painful to see Al hop back to his dressing room. They don't make them any tougher or more determined than Al.
