Cerrone, who will face Joe Lauzon at UFC 274 to spark the PPV main card, is widely regarded as one of the most game and capable fighters of his time. Although he never won a UFC championship he came pretty damn close and seems to set new records every time he steps inside of the cage.
One of the biggest UFC fights for Cerrone came against none other than Conor McGregor at UFC 246 back in Jan. 2020. âCowboyâ had called for a matchup with McGregor multiple times before that, but didnât seem totally prepared for his battle with the Irishman. In turn, McGregor walked into the cage and sparked Cerrone with a 40-second TKO (watch HERE). It was arguably one of the most disappointing performances of Cerroneâs career, especially since McGregor was competing outside of his own weight class at 170 pounds and hadnât fought in well over a year.
Leading into this weekendâs UFC 274 event Cerrone was asked about the McGregor fight and revealed that he didnât want any part of it. Cerrone spoke candidly and openly about how he felt leading up to his walkout and while he was in the cage with McGregor.
Honesty like this is so rare now.
I like it
Eh, Iâd say McGregor MADE him quit is a more accurate statement.
He totally quit against Tony when he started blowing his nose to get the doctor to stop it.
He did it a few times knowing full well the eye would swell and the fight would be stopped instead of going out on his shield.
As exciting as his fights can be, there is no telling what kinda performance is gonna come out of him now. Always been a fan but damn can he let u down.
Cerrone crumbles. Not criticizing him, just an honest observation.
Donât u hate it that this guy was right?
Not like it wasnât observed by many others from the get goâŚ.and yeah Cowboy has been a great fighter but he has clearly not been up to it mentally for most of his big fights.
Rogan gonna have to apologize
I was really surprised Cerrone would even admit to something like this free willingly. His humanity shines with his humility but he should have probably just kept that to himself.
Regardless the man is a true warrior and Iâve always held him in the highest esteem for making the walks and even all of the short notice step ups.
Pretty much, it doesnât really change much, thr results are the results and we always seen him choke in the big fights but his career has still been great and heâs had awesome fights - finishes both standing and on the ground.
I guess he did win some big ones, against Eddie, Bendo rubber match.
TBH, he seemed to have that mindset in other fights as well, its just that he was able to get his 2nd wind when his opponents let up with the pressure. Heâs definitely a tough guy however, and I hope he opens a school so I can go there.
This happens quite a bit as Chael has mentioned. When guys are done theyâll easily give up a neck or give their back.
I think the point is that he didnât even show up to begin with. In his own words, didnât he say himself he didnât even wanna be there?
Not the first time he appeared to quit.
Donald is a frontrunner/confidence fighter.
If you can hurt him early he struggles.
The hate wasnât fair IMO. Yeah heâs a little smug but he was right. I think the fans and fighters were just feeling protective
Yeah, he said he hasnât trained very hard in last 3 or 4 fights.
he will retire soon
I think youâre missing the fact that he admitted he lost before he even stepped in the octagon. Weâve seen him fold in the big fights but suspected he was mentally weak going into the fights. He unfortunately confirmed it.