Donald Cerrone likely raised more than a few eyebrows during his post-fight interview at UFC FN 132 today, when he relayed he thought about calling off his bout with Leon Edwards due to illness. At the post-fight presser, “Cowboy” provided more details on the symptoms he was experiencing, and why he decided to throw down anyways.
Even if you didn’t get up this AM to watch the Singapore card, you’ve almost certainly heard by now that Cerrone lost via unanimous decision to Edwards. Cerrone showed a ton of heart in the bout, as the vet kept moving forward throughout the contest, despite being cut early in the fight, and despite taking some hard counters from Edwards.
Immediately after the fight, Cerrone told Dan Hardy in his Octagon interview that he was feeling ill all day, and that he almost backed out of the bout. Then, during the post-fight presser, Cerrone told the media this (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“This is the first time in my career that I’ve ever almost called Dana White and said, ‘I’m not coming to work today,’” Cerrone said. “And then I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Man, you’re not that guy. Just go.’ But that had nothing to do with the way I fought. I’m proud of myself actually for getting in there and fighting, so I’m happy, I don’t have any remorse. I don’t think I lost any stock, so all good.”
“I was just sick, throwing up, just feeling… I couldn’t get out of bed, man,” Cerrone added. “I was just feeling like sh*t all morning, all day. I just wasn’t feeling like showing up to work is what I was feeling. It’s the closest in my career I’ve ever been to calling the boss and say, ‘Hey, man, I’m not going to make it.’ And then I just rolled over at five o’clock and looked at the mirror and said, ‘You’re not that guy, so get up and lets go,’ and here I am.”
You know some people are going to pile on Cerrone for making these comments, and accuse him of just tying to make excuses. But, “Cowboy” certainly doesn’t have a track record of doing that when he’s lost fights before.
Would Cerrone have come out on top? If he hadn’t been sick? Hard to say. When you consider the size that he gave up to Edwards, and the latter’s abilities, it does make Cerrone’s performance pretty admirable.