Last night, the global MMA community was sent into a frenzy when UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone announced that he’s set to end his retirement and will return to the octagon for two more bouts.
Whilst most of the comments under his comeback announcement are celebrating how we could be about to see the ‘Cowboy’ riding back into action, UFC CEO Dana White has already come out to slam the decision.
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone claims he’s coming out of retirement for two more fights
Over two years since he hung up the gloves, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone has announced that he’s set to return to the sport of MMA; teasing on an Instagram post how “I want to go back and get two more fights.
“I retired, I told you I was gonna get my hair done and getting on steroids… The number 50 has been sitting in my mind for a while. Working with transcend the last two years, taking TRT and a bunch of peptides.
“Now we’ve got a protocol for all you people that say, ‘Oh what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off?’ Well, I now have to come off and p*ss clean… Fight in a few months, so watch this.”
Dana White ‘hates’ the idea of Cowboy Cerrone fighting in the octagon again
At the post-fight press conference following last night’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO was asked about Cerrone’s desire to return to the cage – and it’s safe to say that the boss isn’t pleased with the Hall of Famer.
“I hate it, I hate it, love him, hate that,” lamented Dana White, as he expressed his concern over why the legendary fighter is looking to ride into battle once again, having celebrated his 41st birthday earlier this year.
“He retired, for what? What’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. I hate it. When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it’s over, they know it is.
“Not just this sport but any professional sport, is hard to walk away from. Not just the money, that’s obviously a very hard part of it, but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage and the place is packed.”
White pointed to the fact that whenever Cowboy attends a UFC event, he receives arguably the biggest roar from the crowd of any fighter shown on the big screens.
“He’s beloved; he’s beloved because the guy goes to war, he’s been in wars for years, and it’s time to not go to war anymore. There’s nothing left to prove for him… I’d rather work something else out with him, figure out another way.
“If it’s about money, then he can do something else. Because he ain’t going to fight for the rest of his life and he’s always going to need to make money. So, let’s figure that out now instead of three years from now.”
Whilst Cerrone has claimed that his comeback is simply him “chasing greatness” as he hunts yet more career records, Dana White believes that the iconic UFC veteran “shouldn’t think about fighting again.
“Cerrone needs to think about what’s next. He should have been thinking about it two years ago but apparently, he didn’t, and he needs to… But we’re here for him, we love Cerrone, [and] we’ll help in any way we can.
“I don’t want to see him get punched in the face anymore.”
Should Cerrone have his wish granted, fans are calling for him to fight fellow veteran Tony Ferguson, who also confirmed this week that he isn’t planning on retiring from MMA anytime soon.
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