There’s a stark difference between the mind games of Nate Diaz and that of Conor McGregor, according to Donald Cerrone.
“Cowboy” is set to face veteran brawler Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 23. He’ll be aiming to emerge from the fight still undefeated since moving up to welterweight.
His opponent, tough as nails “Gamebred” is hoping Cerrone will be that marquee scalp his record requires for him to become more of a household name. Throughout the entirety of the build-up to this bout, Masvidal has been firing shots at Cerrone in a bid to take up residency inside his head.
However, Cerrone has been around the block, and the last thing he plans on doing is to let the trash-talk affect him, as he explained during his pre-fight press scrum for this weekend’s card.
“They do what they gotta do. I’ve been in this game a long time, this is my 34th UFC fight. It’s gonna be fun, I enjoy it, especially at home. I’m gonna take my time walking out of that tunnel and suck it all in.”
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The reason why he’s not letting it get to him is simple – he’s let that happen before.
Back in 2011, Cerrone was riding a six-fight win-streak when he faced the incomparable Nate Diaz at UFC 141, way before the Stockton native became the superstar he is today. Although Diaz has made notable improvements to his overall game back then, what hasn’t changed is his “fuck you” attitude that gives him this incredible ability to get under his opponent’s skin.
Cerrone ended up losing the fight of the night via unanimous decision, and he still recounts the experience with regret to this day. When asked if any fighter has ever gotten under his skin, he didn’t hesitate with his response.
“Diaz… and I paid very much for that.”
Naturally, the follow-up question was about Diaz’s greatest rival, who also has a talent for winding up fighters with his acerbic tongue.
Cerrone famously had a verbal sparring match with Conor McGregor at the UFC Go Big press conference in 2016, McGregor called him slow, stiff and “stuck-in-the-mud,” while Cowboy fired back by referring to him as English. He then went on a bit of a run of talking smack about ‘The Notorious’, but he sees McGregor’s style as a little different to the one man that got inside his head.
“No… Conor is Conor, that’s a whole different ball of shit. Yeah… (laughs awkwardly)”
Read into that what you will.
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