Donald Cerrone won’t allow Ben Henderson to control the fight: That s*** won’t be happening

Most fighters look forward to some time off after a hard fought victory - even if it is just a few short days before…

By: Karim Zidan | 8 years ago
Donald Cerrone won’t allow Ben Henderson to control the fight: That s*** won’t be happening
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Most fighters look forward to some time off after a hard fought victory – even if it is just a few short days before returning to the gym. Donald Cerrone, however, is right back to cutting weight for a fight just over two weeks later in Boston – against former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, nonetheless.

It is just part of what makes Cerrone a fan favourite – his so-called ‘fighter spirit.’ Yet even he is not certain why he decided to take such a challenging fight on short notice.

“Why not (take the fight)?” asked Cerrone. “I’m in shape. Ben (Henderson) is a dangerous guy. I shouldn’t take him on short notice, but it kind of works against him as well. He doesn’t expect me on short notice.

In their previous two encounters, Henderson has come out the victor. Their first fight, which took place in October 2009, is still considered to be one of the best clashes in WEC history. However, with an 0-2 record against Henderson, Cerrone knows he needs to change his approach against the former champion.

“My mentality (is different). In the first fight I let Ben just play in my guard for the first two rounds and work for submissions. That s*** won’t be happening (this time).”

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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