After a ten fight run in the welterweight division, Donald Cerrone is returning to lightweight this Saturday at UFC Brooklyn, and “Cowboy” has some big-time goals.
Cerrone is booked to fight rising lightweight Alex Hernandez at the event, which will mark the first time since 2015 that the rugged vet has fought at 155. Cerrone has talked about moving back down to lightweight for a little while now, and following his submission win over Mike Perry in November, he’s finally made the drop.
Well, recently Cerrone spoke with the media in advance of Saturday’s card, and he had this to say about his future (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“Saturday, get in there and do my thing and I think I’ll take a top-five out and hopefully I’ll get the title,” Cerrone said. “I think I’m two away. I left and I was No. 2 (in the UFC rankings). I lost to (Rafael) dos Anjos then I went to ’70. I was ranked No. 2. Now I don’t have a number next to my name. But now I’m back, let’s do this fight. I think I’ll be ranked, but then I’ll get a top-five guy.”
“We’re working for it, for sure,” Cerrone said, when asked about the possibility of facing McGregor. “Hopefully the next fight. Conor’s his own beast. He gets to dictate the spot what he wants, so it’s whether me and the UFC agree, it’s all kind of on him. He did a good job of cementing himself, so it’s all on him.”
So, there’s a couple of things to look at here. Is Cerrone two wins away from fighting for the 155 title again? He could be. Hernandez has a ton of buzz behind him, so, when you couple that with the fact Cerrone was a top contender at 155 for a long time, a win on Saturday could deliver him a top-five opponent. If Cerrone won that next fight, then sure, it’s possible he could challenge for the belt. Although, we are talking about a division that has the likes of Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta, Kevin Lee and McGregor.
And what about a fight with McGregor? Cerrone has been campaigning for this to happen for a while now, but the “Notorious” one hasn’t really said much about it has he? There’s no question that a bazillion people would love to see McGregor and Cerrone fight, but the former champ doesn’t have as much to gain as “Cowboy” by taking that bout. Not as it stands right now anyways.