It’s very difficult to stop fighters like Donald Cerrone from taking a fight. However, at some point, someone has to protect these warriors from themselves
Donald Cerrone should not have fought Leon Edwards in UFC Singapore’s main event. After dropping a unanimous decision to the streaking English welterweight, ‘Cowboy’ let the world know that he wasn’t even close to being 100%. He told Dan Hardy in his post-fight interview that he was barely able to make it out of bed the morning of the fight.
“I was sick, like literally sick all day, couldn’t get out of bed. So for me to come in here and tell my coaches, ‘Man, I don’t feel like going in there tonight.’ I’ve never felt like that ever. But, fuck, that’s no excuse.”
Cerrone was always going to play down the validity of that ailment as an excuse. However, bar a few knuckle-dragging ‘Just Bleed’ Twitter users, would anyone really complain if he had decided to withdraw from the scrap? Judging by his comments in the post-fight presser, fighting that night shouldn’t even have been a consideration.
Those last 10 seconds… 🤘
What a performance by Leon Edwards at #UFCSingapore 🙌 pic.twitter.com/J6j6UT98jG
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) June 23, 2018
“You’re not that guy”
Cerrone admitted being proud of the way he fought against Edwards, as he should be. He confessed to having no regrets about the bout. As you’d expect.
Once his body began failing in the build-up to the fight, he had to convince himself to actually show up inside the Octagon. Unsurprisingly, he talked himself into it. But considering the state he was in, surely somebody should have been there to talk him right back out again.
“I was sick, throwing up, couldn’t get out of bed, man, just feeling like shit all morning, all day. I wasn’t feeling like showing up to work. That’s how I was feeling. That’s the only way I can tell it. It was the closest I’ve ever been in my whole career to calling the boss and saying, ‘Hey, man, I’m not going to fucking make it.’ Then I rolled over about 5 o’clock, looked in the mirror and said, ‘You’re not that guy’. So I got up and said, ‘Let’s go’. Here I am.”
Taking nothing away from Edwards. He deserves all the praise he’s getting for beating a legend of the sport. ‘Rocky’ improved his record to 16-3 (8-2 UFC) with his sixth consecutive UFC victory. Meanwhile, Cerrone drops to 33-1-1NC (20-8 UFC). He’s 1-4 in his last five trips to the Octagon.
