“Cowboy” claims that the Conor McGregor fight hasn’t come to fruition due to it not being a headlining act.
There has been much talk about former UFC champion Conor McGregor taking on Donald Cerrone, but it’s yet to materialize, and indeed may not happen at all.
Earlier in the week, Joe Rogan said on his podcast that the main holdup for a potential showdown between the Irish superstar and “Cowboy” is the UFC apparently wanting the fight to be a co-main event. According to Cerrone himself, that seems to be the case, or at least that’s what he has been told.
“Conor won’t fight unless it’s a main event,” Cerrone said (via ESPN). “I don’t know if it’s an ego thing or a status thing for him. I don’t give a s—. I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, and I stand by that all the time. I guess he’s a prima donna and only takes main event spots. I don’t know.”
McGregor has been the headliner in his last seven fights, including a pair of non-title bouts vs. Nate Diaz. There’s been a fixation with having championship matchups as UFC pay-per-view main events, or at least having a reigning champion in the main event. McGregor is one of the biggest draws in combat sports history — certainly #1 in UFC history — so the idea that the UFC would give Conor co-main status all because of the lack of a belt seems sketchy, at best. If it’s true, then it’s pretty stupid.
“We were all waiting on Conor for April, and he said he wasn’t ready,” Cerrone said. “I don’t know how in one breath you can say, ‘I’ll fight anyone, anytime, anywhere,’ and the next one say, ‘I’m not ready for that one.’
”I’m more annoyed that he went radio silent after putting it out. I get it, you want to stay relevant by putting it out there, but then you can’t go radio silent. Sack up, b—-. Sign the f—ing paper.”
There has been mutual interest between the two, with McGregor accepting Cerrone’s callout after Donald stopped Alexander Hernandez in January. McGregor is suspended until April 6th for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl, and it’s been reported that he’s likely going to fight in the summer.
Dana White said that they’re not close to making Cerrone-McGregor, and that Cerrone vs. Al Iaquinta could be made instead. As for Cerrone, one of the most active fighters the sport has ever seen, he doesn’t intend to wait around for Conor, and has set a deadline for how long he’s willing to go without a fight.
“I call the UFC and tell them what to do, they tell me to shut the f— up and go sit in the corner,” Cerrone said. “I don’t have any say on that stuff. What I do know is July is the latest I’m fighting. That’s the f—ing latest. I will not wait longer than that.”