Tag: Donald Cerrone

Donald Cerrone reacts to UFC Hall of Fame announcement: ‘I’m taken away and honored’

Former title challenger Donald Cerrone was surprised by the UFC Hall of Fame announcement made during UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] is heading to the UFC Hall of Fame, and couldn’t be happier.

The announcement was made during the UFC on ESPN 43 event at AT&T Center in San Antonio, catching Cerrone (36-17 MMA, 23-14 UFC) by surprise. Cerrone’s wife and kids came out to join him cageside during the announcement, which was an added element to the moment of being added to the 2023 class.

“Throughout my career, everyone says ‘Future Hall of Famer, future Hall of Famer.’ It just like rattles off, you know?” Cerrone told reporters backstage. “It’s just words. It’s not a real thing until it’s a real thing, you know? It’s crazy. Man, I’m taken away and honored, to be honest. I don’t really have words to express. … I had no clue my family was even here, so that was another surprise.”

One of the sport’s most popular fighters thanks to his fight style and willingness to take on anyone at any time, will soon have his names among other legends of the sport when he is officially inducted later this summer along with Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, and Jens Pulver.

“Now it’s sinking in to be like, ‘Yeah, I’m in the Hall,'” Cerrone said. “It’s cool, it’s an honor, man. I mean, you look across any major league sport, the Hall of Famers, that’s an important thing, man. To be with the greats of Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Urijah (Faber), the list goes – it’s not that big of a list, to be honest with you, in our game. To be hanging on the wall at the PI, it’s going to be cool.”

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“Cowboy” called it a career after his final fight against Jim Miller at UFC 276 last July, ending a pro MMA career that began in 2006. As for what Cerrone misses about being an active fighter, it’s about everything except actually stepping into the cage.

“I miss the camaraderie, I miss all you guys back here, I miss this, I miss the training with the groups and getting ready, but being in there and fighting, I don’t (miss it),” Cerrone said. “It was time. It was time to bow out, and like I said, I’m going to Hollywood, man. That’s my next plan, that’s the next mission. I enjoy moving forward with all that, and loving the adventure I’m on now, but there’s days where I think back like, ‘Man, do we have one more in us? Do go back for two and have 50?'”

While Cerrone admits he contemplates that return to reach a total of 50 walks to cage across his WEC and UFC days, his return is very unlikely considering his new goals and the pesky detail of passing a USADA test.

“I got my hair done, so my hair is growing in, and got on steroids, so I couldn’t come back if I wanted to right now,” Cerrone said with a smile. “I feel good right now. I’m healthy, happy, and just enjoying a lot of time with the kids and them growing up with the family, and like I said, chasing Hollywood – which is a lot like starting from the very beginning of wanting to be a UFC fighter again, is how I feel. I just re-entered that realm again, so let’s strap the boots on, let’s go.”

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone joins 2023 UFC Hall of Fame class

If ever there were a fighter who never won a world title but deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame, it’s Donald Cerrone.

If ever there were a fighter who never won a world title but deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame, it’s [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag].

That’s exactly where he’ll land this summer, because “Cowboy” is the latest name to join the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame class.

The promotion announced during Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 broadcast in San Antonio that Cerrone (36-17 MMA, 23-14 UFC), who for many years held UFC records for fights, wins, finishes and bonuses, will be enshrined during the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony during July’s International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas.

“’Cowboy’ Cerrone is one of the best lightweights in UFC history,” UFC president Dana White said after the announcement. “’Cowboy’ consistently fought the best of the best for over a decade inside the pctagon and set a ton of records in the process. He was also a complete savage who would fight anyone at any time. He is a true legend, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of International Fight Week.”

Cerrone, 39, made his octagon debut in February 2011 after a notable run under the now-defunct WEC banner, where he unsuccessfully challenged for the belt. His tenure with the organization started strong, because Cerrone won six of his first seven UFC fights.

From there, the American would go on to be the most active and arguably most exciting fighters on the roster for the better part of a decade. Cerrone picked up notable wins over Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller, Benson Henderson en route to his first UFC title shot.

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An eight-fight winning streak built Cerrone up to a chance to challenge then-champ Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight belt at UFC on FOX 17 in December 2015, but it did not go his way. Cerrone fell short with a 66-second TKO loss, a result which formed a career-long narrative that he struggled to get over the hump in the biggest fights.

Cerrone made a run in the welterweight division that featured more memorable wins and finishes, but the results started to taper off in 2017. Cerrone would register just four wins over the final 15 bouts of his career, including a seven-fight winless skid leading up to his retirement fight at UFC 276 in July 2022.

“I’m not complaining to anybody, but I don’t love it anymore,” Cerrone said after a loss in his final bout. “I’m going to be a movie star, baby. It’s time to bow out. I’ve got to know when. … Hopefully one day, I’m in the (UFC) Hall of Fame. Thank you so much, UFC.”

That skid, however, included defeats to some of the most recognizable figures in MMA history, including Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis.

Cerrone’s rough ending to his career didn’t take away from his impact, though. His activity level and fighting style motivated a generation who wanted to “be like ‘Cowboy’,” and now he’ll be recognized for his contributions in the UFC Hall of Fame.

At the time of his induction announcement, Cerrone has the third-most fights in UFC history (38), tied for second-most wins (23), tied for second-most finishes (16), and tied for the most bonuses (18).

Cerrone joins Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and Jens Pulver as members of the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

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Farewell, fighters: A list of former UFC champs and more MMA notables who retired in 2022

The MMA world said goodbye to more than 35 notable fighters in 2022, from former UFC champions to future UFC Hall of Famers and more.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently fighters from the era that helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves to move on to the next chapters in their lives.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete and, perhaps more importantly, get a payday will continue to drive fighters back, even well beyond their expiration dates.

In 2022, there was an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are retired, and we have a list of those who opted to walk away last year.

Jake Paul not interested in boxing Donald Cerrone: ‘I’m kind of tired of beating these old dudes up’

Jake Paul says no thanks to a potential boxing match with UFC legend Donald Cerrone.

Don’t hold your breath for a potential [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] fight.

Cerrone, a retired former UFC title challenger, recently expressed interest in a boxing match with Paul. Now, it seems that any type of traction that those comments generated have quickly come to a halt, because the YouTube star turned professional boxer has issued a response.

Paul said he’s not interested in fighting “Cowboy,” and would much rather face a younger name for his next outing.

“I don’t know, I’m kind of tired of beating these old dudes up like that, you know what I’m saying,” Paul told The Schmo. “I’m just trying to get someone in there who is younger, but they’re all scared. They’re just trying to protect their record.”

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Paul is coming off a unanimous decision win over 47-year-old Anderson Silva. They fought in an eight-round bout this past October in Glendale, Ariz. Paul is 6-0 since turning to professional boxing in 2020. He’s competed against several notable MMA fighters, as he’s defeated Silva, Tyron Woodley twice, and Ben Askren.

Cerrone retired from MMA competition in July following a loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. The 39-year-old is one of the most recognizable figures in UFC history, at one point holding the company records for fights, wins, finishes, bonuses and more.

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Retired UFC contender Donald Cerrone thinks Jake Paul is legit, open to ‘big money fight’

‘Cowboy’ Cerrone not opposed to a Jake Paul fight.

[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] is not going to trash [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag].

The former UFC title challenger and retired MMA fighter thinks Paul is actually a good boxer and respects what he’s doing in the combat sports world. “Cowboy” refuses to bad mouth the YouTube star, and actually has positive reviews for his boxing work, which includes wins over Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

“The Jake Paul phenomenon is kind of crazy, it’s got everyone calling him out,” Cerrone told Thicc Boy Studios. “It’s kind of like the big Conor push. I feel like that’s happening with Jake Paul. Everyone wants in, and I don’t see why they wouldn’t, that’s a big money fight.

“You can take away (from him). Everyone is saying those are rigged fights, and I think he’s hitting hard. I really do think those are legitimate shots and strikes, and he’s been practicing boxing, and he’s whipping their asses. I don’t think there’s any missed hype, I think he’s got something going.”

As far as a potential boxing fight between the two, Cerrone doesn’t seem like he’s going to go out of his way to pick a fight, but if an offer were to come his way, he’d welcome it with open arms.

“Would I like to fight him?” Cerrone said. “How could I say no to millions of dollars? I would definitely go out there and do it, but I’m not sitting here saying, ‘Jake you’re a YouTuber, you’re not worth a f*ck, blah blah blah.’ No, man. You’re making money and if you want to throw some money my way, I’m with you.”

Cerrone retired from MMA competition in July following a loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. He’s one of the most recognizable figures in UFC history, at one point holding the company records for fights, wins, finishes, bonuses and more.

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15 best fight bookings of 2022 that got away due to injuries, weight issues, and more

Check out these highly anticipated matchups in 2022 that fell through due to various issues outside of the cage.

Fight bookings throughout 2022 were not ravaged by COVID-19 like the year before, but a number of key matchups still never made it to the cage.

Unfortunate injuries occurred in training camp, and in two instances, after weigh-ins, leading to last-minute scheduling changes and late bout scratches.

From entertaining veteran matchups to top contender bouts and title fight rematches, MMA lost some incredible fights this year due to various reasons.

Take a look below at some of the biggest pairings and why they did not go ahead as planned (in order of scheduled date).

Nearing a decade in UFC, Neil Magny relearned how to get priorities in order before Daniel Rodriguez matchup

Ahead of UFC Fight Night 214, Neil Magny reflects back on when he feared his tenure was over – until Donald Cerrone gave him advice.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] reflects on his UFC journey with an incredulous smile. It’s been almost a decade since his debut – and a little over 10 years since he was on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Time flies when you’re fighting and winning, as Magny (26-9 MMA, 19-8 UFC) realized as he sat at a UFC Fight Night 214 pre-fight news conference. It seems like just yesterday he as in between his third and fourth UFC bouts, fearful his tenure was over.

“It’s crazy to look back on it and see how long it’s been that I’ve been here now, especially with the way my UFC career started,” Magny said ahead of his 28th UFC bout. “I didn’t win ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ My UFC career started going 1-2 that first year. I was literally at the point like, ‘All right. Maybe this is as far as I’ll (go) at this point.’ I remember literally walking into training one day and I’m like, ‘Man, I might be getting cut. I lost two fights in a row. I haven’t heard from the UFC in a while. This might be it.'”

That’s when friend and former training partner [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] came through with some great advice.

“Donald Cerrone at the time was like, ‘Why don’t you email the UFC right now and get to training? There’s nothing you can do about it anyway. Let them know. Ask for a fight. If they give it to you, great. If they cut you, great. But there’s no point sitting around bitching about it now. It’s not going to change anything,'” Magny said. “I was like, ‘You know what? You’re right. Let’s see what happens.’ I sent the email, set my phone down, went ahead and trained and after training, I had a fight in my email for a couple weeks later.’

“… That fight started a seven-fight winning streak for me in the UFC. It catapulted my career to where it is now. I’m definitely grateful that I stuck with it and didn’t make that decision to hang it up and move on, sort of speak. I’m fortunate to be here 10 years later.”

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Saturday at UFC Fight Night 214, Magny looks to bounce back from a June loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov when he fights Daniel Rodriguez (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC). Even this far deep into his UFC career, Magny said he’s still learning ways to crucially improve. That was particularly the case during this camp.

“Surprisingly, there’s still a lot to learn in this game,” Magny said. “The last fight was definitely one of those lessons. For me, the biggest thing is getting complacent. … I’m in a position where I have business outside of fighting. I have real estate outside of fighting. I have two kids to worry about. I have a marriage to worry about. All these different things that aren’t necessarily negatives, but at the end of the day, they end up being distractions, especially in the training camp. (I’ve been) just learning how to prioritize and be present at the same time. It’s a difficulty. My last fight definitely put me in a position to kind of start figuring that thing out more.”

“… Fighting the best guys in the world, I can’t go out with the idea like, ‘OK cool. I had an OK training camp. I had an OK fight week.’ I need to make sure the training is impeccable. There are no flaws. There are no holes in it. I make sure I check every box that I need to and I go in there and get the job done.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.

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UFC 279 free fight: Nate Diaz flips off, beats up Donald Cerrone

Before UFC 279, relive one of Nate Diaz’s most vintage performances as he beat up and disrespected Donald Cerrone.

Middle fingers are part of [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]’s repertoire, as was evidenced by the two he showed to [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] in between rounds during their clash at UFC 141.

The bout was the co-main event to Alistair Overeem’s TKO of Brock Lesnar, as part of a card that took place Dec. 30, 2011 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The bad blood was evident from the moment the pre-fight promotion began. At a pre-fight ceremonial faceoff, Diaz infamously smacked Cerrone’s cowboy hat off and shoved him.

When it came time to fight, the respect level continued its flatline. In between Round 2 and Round 3, Diaz flipped the double bird at Cerrone, who just received a massive pump-up speech from coach Greg Jackson. The double bird was a one-upped version of the single middle finger Cerrone had given him earlier in the fight.

As a whole, the fight was largely one-sided in Diaz’s favor. He cruised to an impressive 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 unanimous decision win over “Cowboy.”

Five years later, in 2015, Cerrone revealed he initiated a beef-squashing with the Diaz Brothers.

“I went up and talked to Nate and Nick, both of them,” Cerrone told MMA Junkie. “I said, ‘Hey, man, this sh*t has got to stop. We either have to figure it out, or figure it out.’ You know what I mean? They were like, ‘Cool, man.’”

Check out the full fight from UFC 141 above and check out the double middle finger flip below.

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Spinning Back Clique: Reaction to UFC 276, Daniel Cormier’s surprise Hall of Fame confession

“Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show, returns to discuss the fallout from UFC 276 and Daniel Cormier’s admission.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Our panel of Mike Bohn, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Matthew Wells discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

  • [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s middleweight title reign rolls on after he successfully defended the belt for the fifth time with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. It was one-way traffic for 25 minutes, even if Adesanya thinks he had an “off night,” but a contingent of fans afterward heaped criticism on the champ for being boring and playing things too safely. Why is that happening to Adesanya and not necessarily to other dominant champions like Kamaru Usman and Valentina Shevchenko?
  • Continuing with middleweight, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] knocked out Sean Strickland in the first round at UFC 276 to set up a title shot against Adesanya, whom he’s beaten twice in kickboxing. Ever since his arrival to the UFC last November, people have been talking about Pereira posing a threat to Adesanya’s reign. How worried should Adesanya be about fighting Pereira in MMA?
  • As if two prior wins wasn’t enough, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] left zero doubt being better than Max Holloway after successfully defending his featherweight title with a masterful performance at UFC 276. Volkanovski afterward teased a move up to lightweight, which seemingly people seem to be open to. When he comes back, will there still be a push for him to pursue champ-champ status, or is there still work to do at featherweight?
  • Last week during his UFC Hall of Fame induction speech, [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] admitted to using the towel trick from his wrestling days to make weight for his light heavyweight title fight against Anthony Johnson at UFC 210. If you recall, Cormier weighed in initially 1.2 pounds over the championship limit of 205. He came back on a second attempt, made weight and went on to defend his light heavyweight title the following day. This all happened while NOT doing anything to shed the additional weight in between his weigh-in attempts. What are your thoughts on DC’s admission?
  • [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] took his gloves off in the octagon at UFC 276 after losing to Jim Miller. Cerrone said he doesn’t love MMA anymore after 16 years, and Hollywood beckons. How will you remember the “Cowboy”? Do you consider him a UFC Hall of Famer?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

UFC 276 post-event facts: Alexander Volkanovski joins exclusive club with 12-0 UFC start

Check out the facts and figures to come out of UFC 276, where Alexander Volkanovski continued his epic run with a 22nd consecutive win.

The biggest UFC event of the year thus far took place Saturday with UFC 276, which went down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and featured a plethora of notable names – none more so than a pair of champions from Oceania.

In the main event, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) outpointed [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) for a unanimous decision to defend the middleweight title. That win came soon after [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) defended the featherweight title against [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) with another unanimous decision in their trilogy bout.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 276.