Dana White has stated that the UFC will not attempt to book a fight between UFC veterans Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon for a third time.
Cerrone and Lauzon were initially scheduled to face off at UFC 274. However, Cerrone fell ill due to food poisoning on the night of the fight, forcing the commentary team to announce the news live on air.
The fight was immediately rebooked for UFC Austin, where it was slated to take place in the co-main event of the night. Both men weighed in and all seemed to be going to plan.
However, only Cerrone appeared at the ceremonial weigh-ins, with Brendan Fitzgerald announcing that Lauzon was suffering from cramps. Shortly after, it Lauzon announced that he would not be fighting, although it was not due to cramp. The lightweight veteran had damaged his knee shortly after the weigh-ins and was unable to walk on it.
Dana White Compares Joe Lauzon vs. Donald Cerrone To Khabib vs. Tony
In the UFC Austin post-fight interviews, Dana White was asked by the press if he would consider rebooking the veteran fight a third time. White was clear in his response, stating:
“That thing is getting like Tony (Ferguson) and Khabib (Nurmagomedov). No, I will not book that fight again.”
When asked what the immediate future holds for ‘Cowboy,’ White revealed that he had turned down a fight in July, and is instead hoping to fight in the latter half of the year.
“He just cut that weight yesterday,” White said. “We sit, and we wanted to see if he wanted to fight in July, but he doesn’t want to cut weight again, so he won’t fight in July. We’ll figure something else out with him.”