This weekend will be Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s 54th professional MMA bout as he currently holds a record of 36 wins, 15 losses, and two no contests.
This weekend he faces Alex Morono who is four and two in his last six fight, but went one and two in 2020. Cerrone was originally scheduled to take on UFC veteran and The Ultimate Fighter Season One contestant Diego Sanchez before Sanchez pulled out. With Cerrone being 38 years old and with his best years behind him, how much longer will we see Cowboy inside the octagon?
It is no secret that Cowboy has been a fairly rough stretch these past few years. Cowboy is 0-4-1 in his last five bouts, though one of those losses is a bit questionable, with his decision loss to Anthony Pettis wildly criticized as a fight Cowboy actually won. Even leaving the Pettis loss off of that record though, three legitimate losses and one no contest due to his opponent, Niko Price, being above the legal limit for marijuana, Cowboy has not faired well inside the octagon lately. Cerrone has openly said that he loves fighting and despite the losses he still loves the sport. He does, however acknowledge that he is on the final run of his career. If Cerrone can defeat Morono this weekend, we can all collectively be happy for one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC’s history proving that he’s still got it. If Cerrone is to lose this weekend however, it would be yet another potential reason to call it a career.
Much like his originally scheduled opponent Diego Sanchez, Cerrone has moved into legend status in the MMA and specifically, UFC world. What this really means is that the UFC will let Cowboy fight for as long as he wants because he is a proven draw due to his legendary status. Anytime Cowboy is on a card, the MMA world pays attention, even if it is a Fight Night as opposed to a pay-per-view and he was originally scheduled to be the third to last fight before the main event fell through, pushing it to the co-main event spot. Achieving such legendary status also comes with a major negative for the fighter. Often times fighters will achieve this status late into their careers, way past their peak athletically. But because these fighters are so universally beloved and proven money for the promotion, they hang on way too long. Now that is not at all what is being insinuated about Cowboy currently. Cowboy put on a great fight with Niko Price, a top tier Welterweight, in his last fight which originally ended in a draw before Price’s post fight drug test. This is simply stating that most legendary fighters leave the sport one fight late, rather than one fight early.
What the fans can truly hope for is that Cowboy remains competitive for as long as possible. And once the time is truly up for Cerrone, he acknowledges this and retires as one of the sports most iconic figures rather than clinging on far too long.
Photo: via UFC
