UFC 187 results: Donald Cerrone breaks John Makdessi's jaw with kick for TKO

LAS VEGAS – After nearly two full rounds of taking kicks, knees and punches to the head, John Makdessi could withstand no more of Donald Cerrone’s onslaught.

Makdessi (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), a short-notice replacement for the injured Khabib Nurmagomedov, took a head kick from Cerrone (28-6 MMA, 15-3 UFC) with just 16 seconds left in the second round and signaled he was done fighting.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 187 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The official end came at the 4:44 mark of the second round, when referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight after Makdessi made the “time-out” signal. He suspected a broken jaw from Cerrone’s kick.

Until that point, though, Makdessi already had taken plenty of shots to the jaw. Cerrone upped his output after a methodic first round, connecting with hard combinations and unconventional attacks such as a reverse elbow.

Cerrone, who said afterward that he was the most injured he’d ever been coming into a fight, was in control for the majority of the action. But Makdessi gamely stood in the pocket and found a home for his left hand, attacking to the body before going upstairs as Cerrone closed the distance.

While a title shot has eluded him thus far in the UFC, Cerrone ventured that he might win the ultimate opportunity by default. With eight straight wins, he may be right.

“I’m upset with my performance, but I always am,” Cerrone said. “I don’t know what’s next. My manager probably won’t let me take another fight before I get a title shot, so I guess we’ll just wait and see.”

Makdessi goes back to the drawing board after a TKO of Shane Campbell less than one month ago at UFC 186.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 187 results include:

• Donald Cerrone def. John Makdessi via TKO (kick, injury) – Round 2, 4:44
• Andrei Arlovski def. Travis Browne via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:41
• Joseph Benavidez def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• John Dodson def. Zach Makovsky via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dong Hyun Kim def. Josh Burkman via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 2:13
• Rafael Natal def. Uriah Hall via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Colby Covington def. Mike Pyle via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Islam Makhachev def. Leo Kuntz via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:38
• Justin Scoggins def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC 187, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)