Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
The Gaethje talk begins at the 1:15 mark.
It seems that what happens in the gym no longer stays in the gym.
While Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight veteran Donald Cerrone would never air dirty laundry, UFC Fight Night 158 opponent, Justin Gaethje, beat him to the punch with a surprise revelation that “Cowboy” left him stiff back in 2012.
Cerrone was caught off guard by the admission.
“I would have never brought that up on my end, you know?” Cerrone told the combat sports media ahead of UFC Vancouver. “So I don’t know why he did. But training is totally different than fighting, and it must have been a weird, lucky shot. That was so many years and he’s a totally different guy and its gonna be the fight everyone thinks it’s going to be.”
Kid or not, Gaethje is anxious to return the favor.
He’ll get his chance at the UFC on ESPN+ 16 event this Sat. (Sept. 14, 2019) when they throw hands in the UFC Vancouver five-round headliner. Cerrone and Gaethje are separated by just one spot in the division Top 5 (see the complete rankings here).
The 36-12 (1 NC) Cerrone is hoping to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Tony Ferguson last June, which snapped “Cowboy’s” three-fight win streak. Gaethje, meanwhile, is riding high after scoring back-to-back knockout wins over James Vick and Edson Barboza, pushing his record to 20-2 with 18 finishes.
To see who else is fighting at UFC Fight Night 158 click here.