Feb. 12, 2016: Cerrone moves to welterweight, but still open to McGregor
Nearly two months after his quick TKO loss to dos Anjos in their title fight at UFC on FOX 17, Cerrone conducts a phone interview with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan ahead of his welterweight debut against Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 83. He leaves the door open to fighting McGregor, who was coming off a 12-second knockout of Aldo at UFC 194 to become undisputed featherweight champion.
“It makes no difference to me (who I fight next),” Cerrone said. “I’m not going to say no. But I’m not going to get out there and say, ‘My next fight, title fight. It’s my dream.’ I don’t care. I don’t give a (expletive). Give me Conor McGregor. I’ll fight that (expletive). Other than that, I don’t care. Tell that dude to slow his (expletive) roll. You can’t be just calling out 170-pounders. So, whatever. Enough of him.”
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Feb. 17, 2016: McGregor trashes Cerrone for title loss
Following his knockout of Aldo, McGregor got his wish to attempt to become a two-weight UFC champion when he was booked against dos Anjos at UFC 196. In the lead-up to the fight, McGregor criticized Cerrone’s loss to the Brazilian months prior during an interview with Irish media outlet SevereMMA.
“Cerrone (expletive) out on that one big time,” McGregor said. “That’s why he can fight again this weekend. Ask Aldo if he can fight this weekend? When you win by KO, a true stoppage, you put your opponent out of action for 10 months to a year. He quit in there inside that octagon, that’s why he can go next weekend and fight every weekend. You can fight every week if you go in and quit. If you’re willing to die in there you wouldn’t have those turnarounds.”
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March 24, 2016: Cerrone rips McGregor after loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196
After dos Anjos fell out of a scheduled lightweight title defense against McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016, Cerrone was on the shortlist of replacement opponents. The fight ultimately went to Nate Diaz, though, who submitted McGregor in the second round of their matchup.
Following the loss (which was McGregor’s first in the UFC), Cerrone discusses the fight in a phone interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, making the argument he would’ve easily won had he got the fight.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Cerrone said. “That’s how I would have fought. I would have went in there and took his ass down and submitted him right away. I’m not even going to start on the (expletive) (expletive).
“I’ve got nothing to say about that (expletive) (expletive) to be honest with you. It is what it is. He did run his mouth, but when he sees me face-to-face he’s going to have to – I don’t play that game. When I see him I’m going to check him and see what’s up. I don’t give a (expletive) where it’s at. I’d love to fight the dude, but it’s a fight that’s not going to happen for a long time.”
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June 16, 2016: Cerrone dismisses idea of McGregor fight
Ahead of his matchup with Patrick Cote at UFC Fight Night 89, Cerrone’s interest in a matchup with McGregor begins to fade. He argues that Diaz would be the more compelling fight for him, and outlines, for the first time, how facing McGregor isn’t the massive payday it’s perceived to be.
“I’d rather fighter Diaz over Conor,” Cerrone said. “Everyone talks about that as the money fight, but people don’t understand. They’re like, ‘If you get that fight, that’s the money fight.’ No, I’m under contract. I get paid the same whether I fight Patrick Cote or I fight Conor. He might make more money because he got pay-per-view. I didn’t do a good job promoting myself and making myself big and get pay-per-view money. I get the same $80,000 to fight anybody.”
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