Since beginning his MMA career in 2006, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone racked up an impressive record before catching the eyes of the UFC. Prior to signing with the premier MMA league, Cowboy had only lost to Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner. He made his UFC debut in February 2011, submitting Paul Kelly in the second round at UFC 126, earning himself a fight-of-the-night bonus in his first outing. Six months later, he knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round and would go on to fight five times that year. His willingness to fight on short notice continued throughout his career and is one of the many reasons Cerrone became a fan favorite.
At the end of 2015, Cowboy fought for the UFC Lightweight title against Rafael Dos Anjos. It wasn’t to be his night as he was stopped in the first round in Orlando, Florida, in what was his 19th fight in less than five years since joining the UFC.
Heading into 2017, Cowboy had a 19-4 record in the UFC – very impressive. As with most veterans, particularly those who have been so active, it becomes almost impossible to maintain. The record in his next 15 fights was a lot less impressive, 4-10 (1 NC.) In fairness, the competition he faced during the final few years of his UFC career included the likes of Conor McGregor, Leon Edwards, Justin Gaethje and Robbie Lawler, just to name a few.
With Cowboy’s announcement earlier this week that he would like to come out of retirement to compete twice more in MMA, the UFC President, Dana White, was asked in a press conference following the Contender Series for his thoughts on the matter:
”I hate it. [I] love him, hate that. He retired. It’s just like, for what? What’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. I hate it”
Dana wasn’t done there and continued:
”When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it’s over, you know it is. So I think that not just this sport, but any professional sport, is hard to walk away from. Not just the money – that’s obviously a very hard part of it – you know, the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting into the cage, the place is packed. Every time we’re at a show and you show Cowboy Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts.”
Dana then said that Cowboy is beloved because every time he fought, he went to war. The time for war has come to an end and there is nothing left for him to prove anymore, according to the UFC president.
Go to war he certainly did. Cowboy has the third most knockouts and third most fights in UFC history. Also, only Charles Oliveira (wih 19) has more post-fight bonuses than Cerrone in the organization’s history.
Although his fighting career in the UFC may be over, White indicated that he is keen on the legend having some other involvement with the UFC in future as a way to make some money (should Cowboy need it.)
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