It’s not unusual for UFC fighters to get drunk at live events.
But most of the harm they cause is self inflicted (just ask this guy). Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case when beer-banging “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone buddied up with social media personality Dan Bilzerian for the UFC 235 pay-per-view (PPV) card back in early 2019.
That’s according to event headliner Anthony Smith.
“Dan Bilzerian and Donald Cerrone removed my mom and my wife from their seats while I’m getting ready to fight Jon Jones,” Smith told Michael Bisping (transcribed by Ross Markey). “I was fucking furious. If I had seen Dan Bilzerian … because I had found out about it right after I got to the back, and if I had seen him then, I would have fucking torn his head off, I was so mad.
“They come and they wanna sit down and watch the fight, but they’re fucking hammered,” Smith continued. “Like, just shithouse drunk. And so they tell them that those are their seats. My mom doesn’t know Dan Bilzerian or Donald Cerrone — my wife knows who Donald is, but she doesn’t know him — and [my mom] doesn’t know who this short, tight shirt, funky-ass hat-wearing jerk is. She just knows that these are her seats and she’s about to watch her son fight for a world title.
“Dan ends up being next to my mom, and then during the fight, is watching porn on his phone,” Smith said. “During the fight he’s sitting there watching porn. And my mom’s super uncomfortable, like she’s not a … she’s weirded out. She’s a quiet lady, real shy. It was just a whole fucking ordeal.”
Smith dropped an “embarrassing” decision to Jones after five rounds of tepid action.
The 39 year-old Cerrone is widely considered one of the most fan-friendly fighters on the roster. But despite his good standing with UFC — thanks to his “anyone, anytime” approach to competing — “Cowboy” is not without his share of controversy.
Let’s just hope he can make it to fight No. 50 without incident (and without Bilzerian).