From its original booking for a Fight Night event at the UFC APEX in April, the Donald Cerrone-Joe Lauzon bout was moved to UFC 274. However, no specific reasons for the change were given at the time.
During a pre-fight media scrum, “Cowboy” revealed that he actually worked with Lauzon to have the bout moved and be in front of a sold-out crowd. While fighting back tears, he later stated that it was mainly for his son to bask in such a momentous event
But he also detailed how he and Lauzon did it.
“When they offered (the fight), I called Joe,” he recalled. “‘Let’s do this!’ And then they put us on April 30th, and I called Joe, like, ‘Joe, that’s not gonna work. This is not an APEX fight.’
“Joe’s like, ‘What do you wanna do?’ And I was, like, ‘I’mma call Dana and you back me up.’ He’s like, ‘Got it!’ So, it’s kind of what happened.”
Cerrone may have all the respect for Lauzon, but it doesn’t mean that he is taking things lightly.
“What a good dude. No hostilities, but he’s gonna take my head off. And I plan to do the same with him. So it’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re buddy-buddy, this is gonna be just a slow-starting Cowboy.’”
The 39-year-old Cerrone will look to notch his first win after three years this Saturday against Lauzon. UFC 274 will take place in Phoenix Arizona, co-headlined by two title fights: a lightweight battle between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, and a title rematch between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza.
About the author
