Issue 145
September 2016
Donald Cerrone enjoys mixing it up in two weight classes because he never knows when he’s going to ride off into the sunset
Donald Cerrone
UFC Welterweight
Alias: Cowboy
Age: 33
Team: Jackson-Wink MMA
Record: 30-7 (1NC)
When you’re the most active fighter on the UFC roster, it pays to keep your options open. Donald Cerrone’s have-gloves-will-travel mentality has not only made him a wealthy man, it’s also ensured he’s one of the most adored athletes in mixed martial arts.
‘Cowboy’s gung-ho approach to fighting in the UFC, and indeed his life, is what sets him apart from most of his peers. He doesn’t game plan, he doesn’t calculate and he certainly doesn’t plot and scheme his way through his athletic career. If it’s fun, he does it and so far it hasn’t steered him far wrong.
The Jackson-Wink MMA pupil’s latest adventure is up at 170lb and while he insists he’s not strictly campaigning as a welterweight in 2016, the results inside the Octagon have spoken for themselves. On the back of a lackluster performance in his 155lb title shot in December, Cerrone has grown to become a true welterweight contender.
He demolished Brazilian Alex Oliviera in his divisional debut in February, scoring a quick-fire first-round submission victory. He followed that in June with the TKO of Canadian former middleweight Patrick Cote in Ottawa. Those dominant wins also earned him two more ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses – not bad for a man who admits the lightweight division is still home.
“Making welterweight makes me happy as I don’t have to cut too much weight. I walk around inside 180lb, so making 170, I do that without any thought. So I can just focus on fighting,” he tells FO. “I can also have a beer and a shrimp cocktail the day before the weigh-ins for 170 and that makes me happy. And a happy Cowboy is a winning one.
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t belong at 155lb. It just means I’m ready to take whatever comes my way, man. I’ll take what fight pays the most and perhaps gets me closer to a title shot. I’m hoping whether it’s 155 or 170, my next check will be a little bigger. That’s all I care about.”
Cerrone’s performance against Cote made a lot of welterweights sit up and take notice. Beating an established veteran like the Canadian, especially by TKO, proved Cowboy has carried his striking power up a level. In less than three rounds, he showed he’s capable of mixing with one of the toughest the 170lb weight class has to offer.
Of the performance, Cerrone recalls: “I thought he was going to be a lot bigger and stronger and I believe he didn’t expect me to be as big and as strong as I was. So, yeah, it was nice to finish him... I caught him with that left hook then I got down on top of him and started throwing punches. A couple of big right hands and they stopped it.
“I felt good, you know. Going into the guy’s backyard and beating him up like that. He’s a big dude. But for once I never started slow. Normally backstage before the fight I can be a bit of a mess, but I felt good. I felt comfortable. I was really excited to get in there and I just wanted to get out into the arena, feel the crowd and get going.”
Cerrone says he fights the way he does by putting himself under pressure by grappling with the idea of never fighting again. Retirement is never far from his mind, so he approaches each contest as if it may be his last – and he doesn’t want to end his stellar career with a whimper.
“I always say it’s going to be my last fight, and in a lot of ways I mean that,” he admits. “So I fight like it is my last one, and if that is the case then damn, I want to make it a good one. I think about it all the time. I never know when I will quit exactly, but when I do you won’t see me again.”
He adds: “Fight sports have been good to me. I’ve been to all four corners of this planet to fight and I’ve earned enough money to live my life. But it doesn’t define me as a man. And I know one day I’ll wake up and my fighting career will be over. And I’ll be fine with that.
“I love my life. Eating what I want, doing what I want, playing, and I get to fight at the end of it all. I’m having a good time and I’m enjoying it, I really am. So right now you’re good.”
The thought of MMA or the Octagon existing without Cowboy is one most fans wouldn’t dare to think about. But with fresh challenges in a new weight class and guaranteed money-making opportunities back in his old division, this is one Western tale that’s got a few more shootouts to run before its star rides off into the sunset.
Money maker
Record breaker
Cerrone’s career is littered with bonuses. He’s cashed 17 checks in the Zuffa-owned promotions – more than any other fighter. He won five ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses in WEC and has collected 12 performance bonuses in the UFC. He was also the first to be awarded payments in all four Octagon categories: ‘Fight’, ‘Knockout’, ‘Performance’ and ‘Submission of the Night’.
Canadian killer
Taming ‘The Predator’
Cowboy is the only man to ever stop Patrick Cote by strikes. Not even the Canadian’s old opponents at middleweight and light heavyweight could match former lightweight Cerrone’s feat.
...
