Donald Cerrone offers advice based on ’15 years of being a company man’ (video)
Donald Cerrone offers advice for young fighters looking to reach the top of the UFC
UFC Austin features an important featherweight contest between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett. While those two men look to carve out a place for themselves at 145 pounds, a legend in mixed martial arts is winding down his career. Donald Cerrone is stepping into the cage for what many are calling the last run of a storied career.
Cerrone’s recent track record hasn’t been the greatest. He has not been able to secure a victory since 2019, with his last win coming over Al Iaquinta back in May that year. Cerrone’s career is known for quick turnarounds that have seen him step into the Octagon for the 37th time.
“God it’s cool right,” Cerrone said during the media day. “I need two more after this one and fifty is an incredible number. Hopefully, no one will be able to touch it.”
This weekend Cerrone will face off against Joe Lauzon, another fan favorite with a lengthy career under the UFC banner. This fight was originally supposed to take last month at UFC 274 but a sudden illness caused Cerrone to pull out of the bout and the fight was rescheduled.
“I tried to get right back into training, but my insides hurt if that make any sense, so it took about a week,” Cerrone said. “But I’m in great shape. We got it done. It’s tough, I feel bad for Joe. We talked on the phone and I hope with fifty fights everyone knows it had to be serious to cancel that fight. It was very important to keep this fight on his behalf. I told him we are going to find a date and make it happen.”
Joe Lauzon is a long-time fan favorite in his own right
Lauzon is stepping back into the cage for the first time since 2019. He last competed against Jonathan Pearce, winning via TKO in the first round and ending what was a three-fight losing streak. Both Lauzon and Cerrone are known for being exciting fighters, win or lose. Cerrone looked at that as a point of experience that he could give advice to younger fighters looking to make their way in the largest promotion in MMA.
“That’s 15 years of being a company man,” Cerrone said. “If you’re not greasing the machine then you aren’t part of the machine. I understand it on both sides, looking at the machine and looking at the fighters. It’s tough, but if this is what you want to do, you need to be prepared to go do it. You have to be that dog. It’s a tough sport man.”
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