Fresh off a knockout win on Sunday night, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone declares that he’s returning to his old stomping grounds at lightweight and he’s gunning for arguably the toughest matchup in the division.
Cerrone had a lot of pressure on his shoulders going into his main event matchup against Yancy Medeiros after losing three fights in a row.
The former title contender made the most of the spotlight as he earned a TKO victory in the first round in his latest fight as a welterweight but Cerrone is now looking at a move back to 155 pounds when he returns to the UFC later this year.
In fact, Cerrone hopes to reignite an old rivalry with Russian wrecking machine Khabib Nurmagomedov after they had been rumored to fight in the past and that’s exactly the kind of matchup he wants in his return to lightweight.
“I want [155 pounds]. I want to go get that belt,” Cerrone said when speaking to FS1 after the fight. “Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I’m coming baby. I’m coming. I ain’t scared to fight you.”
"I want 155, I want that belt. @TeamKhabib, I'm coming. I ain't scared to fight…"
Raise your hand if you're down for a Khabib vs. @cowboycerrone fight! ?? https://t.co/tfHXmnxyW0
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 19, 2018
Of course as much as Cerrone might want to face Nurmagomedov, he’s currently tied up in a title fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 223 in April and it’s not likely “Cowboy” is willing to wait.
Instead, Cerrone knows deep down that he’ll always accept whatever challenge the UFC throws at him, including the possibility that they might want a catch weight fight at 165 pounds.
“These big old boys hit hard and they’re a lot bigger. Like I woke up at 168 [pounds] made weight easy. I wish there was a [165 pound] weight class. UFC could we get a 165 weight class, please? Cause that would be cool,” Cerrone said.
“I’ll just fight whatever they tell me. They’ll call me and tell me ‘we need you at 170’ and I’ll be like OK.” I’ll take any fight. They all pay the same to me so it don’t matter what it is.”
