Five Questions With "Cowboy" Cerrone
We sat down with "Cowboy" to ask him how he's feeling heading into his showdown with Justin Gaethje at UFC Vancouver.
UFC lightweights and BMFs have headlined UFC news circles as of late. Last weekend featured Khabib Nurmagomedov unifying his lightweight belt and Dana White announcing that Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will scrap for the “BMF Belt”.
This weekend at UFC Vancouver, we get Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who happens to be both a lightweight and a BMF.
Cerrone returns to the Octagon for the first time since his loss via doctor stoppage to Tony Ferguson at UFC 238. The goal is to defeat Justin Gaethje and get back in the win column to continue his pursuit of a lightweight title fight.
UFC.com sat down with “Cowboy” to discuss the BMF Belt, his inevitable Fight of The Night matchup with Gaethje and a possible title fight with Khabib.
UFC: Dana White announced recently that Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz will be fighting for a “BMF Belt.” Is this something you wish you could fight for?
Cowboy: Masvidal and Nate are bad m***** f*****s, man, so it’s cool. Everyone’s like this is WWE or something but this is a one-time belt. What a great fight, everyone will want to see this. I’m not bothered about it either way. I own the crown. I live at the BMF Ranch, that’s my mantra all the time. So they can fight for the belt, it’s all good.
UFC: You’ve earned performance bonuses in your last four fights. Is that because of your style or a combination of the matchup with your opponent?
Cowboy: How much of (the bonuses) are still in my bank? None of it (laughing). It takes two to tango so you have to have the opponent there to push the pace for Fight of the Night. This Justin Gaethje fight will be a no brainer Fight of the Night. It’s just my style, though. I like to get out there and throw down.
UFC: Knowing a guy like Gaethje will undoubtedly throw down too, does that make you more excited leading up to the fight?
Cowboy: There’s no doubt. I’m going home for two bonuses. He’s a good dude and I can’t wait to go in there with him.
UFC: Khabib and Conor McGregor seem to be the only two guys at the top you haven’t fought. Are you hoping to meet them before you hang it up one day?
Cowboy: Oh yeah. A win over Gaethje definitely puts me in line for the title next. There’s no one above me. Tony Ferguson and Khabib will fight and then I’ll take the winner.
UFC: Dustin Poirier struggled with Khabib on the ground, what would be your gameplan?
Cowboy: Oh I’d take him to the ground. I’d welcome it. Why fight it? I would just be better in that area than him. I’ve been scheduled to fight Khabib four times and every time it’s fallen through. But we’ll get it one day. His top pressure game is unbelievable but how is Khabib on his back? No one knows. So yeah, I’ll welcome it, I love a challenge.
