UFC boss on Donald Cerrone’s move to featherweight: Don’t do it

LAS VEGAS – UFC President Dana White said UFC fighter Donald Cerrone never listens to him anyway, but this one time, he hopes he’ll heed his advice: Don’t move to featherweight.

Cerrone (21-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a longtime UFC and WEC lightweight contender, halted a 1-2 skid and picked up an impressive win by choking out Evan Dunham (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC 167 event.

The fight, which took place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, received typical card placement for a Cerrone fight: the final slot on the FOX Sports 1 prelims. The rationale, of course, was that Cerrone and Dunham would put on such a great fight that it’d encourage viewers to fork over $55 for the pay-per-view.

With a $50,000 “Submission of the Night” stoppage, Cerrone certainly delivered. White hopes it’ll encourage “Cowboy” to stick around at lightweight, but the 30-year-old said he plans a move to featherweight for his next bout.

White isn’t a fan of that potential move from 155 pounds to 145.

“I don’t like the 145 thing,” White said. “I’ve seen that kid cut weight before and have horrible weight cuts at 155. You’ve heard me say a million times that I don’t care, that these kids can do what they want. But I don’t want that kid going to 145.”

While White has encouraged other fighters to work with weight-cutting consultant Mike Dolce when they want to change divisions, he doesn’t believe any manner of help could make it a safe enterprise for Cerrone, who said he had contemplated retirement before scoring Saturday’s second-round triangle-choke victory.

“Get f—ing Dolce, get anybody you want to, gut nobody’s going to make that 145 cut a healthy cut,” he said. “There’s no way. I don’t like it.”

Cerrone, a busy fighter who’s posted 11 bouts (and an 8-3 record) during his 33 months with the UFC, certainly doesn’t look like he could trim extra weight. White said it’s a big reason he’ll encourage the hard-headed fighter to forego the drop, though he doesn’t anticipate he’ll be all that effective.

“The kid is shredded,” White said. “He doesn’t have an ounce of fat on his body. He has grueling cuts at 155. There’s no way he should cut to 145. Not that this kid listens to anything I f—ing tell him to do anyway. But I don’t like it, and I don’t want him to do it.”

For complete coverage of UFC 167, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.