Author: Anton Tabuena

Donald Cerrone is open about PED use in his retirement.

39-year-old Donald Cerrone recently posted training photos where he looked pretty jacked and seems to have gained a lot of muscle mass just a few months into his retirement from mixed martial arts.

While many in the MMA community speclated on possible PED use after seeing the photos, apparently that isn’t something “Cowboy” is hiding. The longterm UFC veteran has been open about injecting steroids now that he isn’t competing anymore, and credits it for his new physique.

“I was just literally yesterday in Vegas, I was telling everybody like I understand why steroids are illegal now that I’m injecting them into my body,” Cerrone said in a recent Calabasas Fight Companion podcast (HT to BE reader @PYeezy_6).

“I feel like I’m f—king 20 again,” he said. “The training would never stop. You could just literally train as hard as you wanted to, (then) wake up the next day recovered and fresh.

“Recovery would be the biggest (improvement). It’s the fountain of youth.”

Cerrone perfectly illustrated how PEDs can give a sizable advantage, but none of this should be an issue now that he isn’t fighting professionally anymore.

Cowboy retired after losing to Jim Miller in July 2022, and is now trying to break into Hollywood and get more acting roles, where a more camera-friendly physique could conceivably help.

Cowboy looks massive now.

Cowboy has spent a lot of time in the weight room after his retirement.

Donald Cerrone just fought less than six months ago, but it looks like he won’t be able to make 155 or even 170 lbs anymore. The longtime UFC veteran recently posted a photo on social media of him back in MMA training and he is looking pretty jacked at 39-years-old.

A lot of people took notice too, with the post getting some pretty hilarious reactions.

“What’s wrong with your arms?!? You having some kind of allergic reaction?” coach John Wood of Syndicate MMA commented.

“Jacked,” UFC welterweight Sean Brady reacted.

“Liver King OUT! ,” former UFC PR exec Dave Sholler commented.

“Swoleville,” NFL vet Derek Wolfe wrote.

After 15 years with the UFC and WEC, Cerrone decided to retire from MMA competition in July 2022. His final bout was a submission loss to Jim Miller, which extended a rough streak that saw him go winless in his seven fights.

Cowboy is tied with Charles Oliveira, as they currently share the record for most post-fight bonuses in UFC history with 18.

After retirement, Cerrone has been trying to break into the Hollywood acting scene, which could possibly explain the desire for a bigger physique.

Former champions, TUF vets, commentators and other MMA fighters reacted to Stephan Bonnar’s death.

Stephan Bonnar passed away a couple of days before Christmas, with The Ultimate Fighter pioneer and UFC Hall of Famer being just 45-years-old.

One half of what was credited to be the fight that saved the UFC, Bonnar clearly made an impact with so many in the industry. His passing took the MMA community by surprise, and personalities and fighters from different eras took to social media to mourn the loss.

Longterm UFC commentator addresses his old regrets with Dana White.

At the end of 2016, the UFC unceremoniously let go of Mike Goldberg, with the promotion not giving him a send-off or even a mention after his 20 years with the promotion. For years, this left the longterm UFC play-by-play commentator and his family upset and disappointed about never receiving a proper goodbye or hearing from Dana White.

Looking back now with fonder memories of his tenure with the UFC, Goldberg reveals he would’ve changed how he handled things back when he was still “hurt” with how everything played out.

“It was kind of crazy, because I would like to run that one back,” Goldberg told MMA Fighting. “Because the whole ‘Did Dana say anything [when I left],’ I mean, it was an awkward situation. [UFC producer] Craig Borsari was wonderful. The hugs, the tears, everything was there. I should have been the guy to be proactive and walk up and thank Dana, as I look back at it. I should have done that. I should have said, ‘Dana, thank you.’ Because business is business.

“I am so appreciative because there’s so much in my life that I have experienced, so much in my life that my family has experienced, and so much of my life that I have today because of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” he said. “Did it take some time? Yeah, it took a little bit of time to get that sting away. But I was never unappreciative — I was just hurt. I was hurt. And I was saddened by the fact that I had such a great gig with great people, and that I no longer was able to do it.”

While Goldberg previously described a chance Las Vegas encounter with Dana White as “awkward,” looking back now he says that same situation eventually gave him “closure.”

“I see Dana in the valet area with a couple of buddies and he’s getting into his car, he’s leaving probably after a dinner or a little bit of gambling as we know with the UFC president Dana White. And my son Cole looks at me, he goes, ‘Dad, that’s Dana.’ And honestly, I froze. I did not know what to do,” Goldberg said.

“Do I say hello? Do I not? What do I do?” he continued. “And I’m usually a guy who’s got a pretty good instinct. And my son, God bless him, he’s like, ‘Dad, go say hi.’ And I did and I shook his hand and I said, ‘Thank you for everything.’ I said, ‘I hope we can stay in touch and I wish you nothing but the ultimate in success in everything that continues in the UFC, and always be thankful for it.’ So it was it was a great moment of, I guess, closure at a time, because of the way that the ending went. And like I said, I should’ve been the one to thank Dana and not waited and then have a little bit of negative come out of it. Because Dana White was great to me. He was great to me and he was supportive of me.

“He was the one who called me when I was going to go to the WWE and said, ‘Don’t go, we want you. We got you.’ Lorenzo is the man and I was Lorenzo Fertitta’s guy, there’s no question, but it was a good moment and I’m really glad that I walked up to Dana that day in front of the Red Rock. And I’d be kicking myself if I wouldn’t have. And I’m glad I did because it turned out well. But was there a little fear and trepidation? Absolutely.”

After his UFC stint, Goldberg also did play-by-play duties with Bellator until 2021.

UFC’s pay-per-view price has increased four times in the ESPN era.

It’s going to be even more expensive to be a UFC fan now.

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, the UFC’s pay-per-view price will be increased yet again, going from $74.99 to $79.99. After already seeing an increase in 2022, this latest price hike will start on January 2023, with UFC 283.

Disney, according to the report, says the increase reflects “the value of ESPN+ and the popularity and quality of UFC events.”

This would mark the fourth PPV price increase since the UFC struck a lucrative deal with ESPN, with the pay-per-view price going from $59.99 in 2019 to $79.99 in 2023. That still doesn’t include the monthly ESPN+ subscription on top of that, which started from $4.99 in 2019, and has pretty much doubled to $9.99 since.

During the start of the ESPN deal in 2019, if an MMA fan bought all 13 PPVs and paid for the monthly subscription, it would cost them $839.75 for the year. In 2023, that total would now be at $1159.75 — if they don’t increase the ESPN+ subscription price for the entire year.

As Disney mentioned, the UFC has been a very popular and highly lucrative property. Figures have previously revealed that the UFC now makes over $1 billion a year, and is expected to keep growing.

Dana White previously tried to wash his hands of the constant PPV price increases, saying UFC isn’t to blame as that call is made by ESPN/Disney executives. As we discussed during their last increase though, it isn’t quite that simple.

The way the UFC’s deal is structured has ESPN paying them more each year, with reported annual increases of roughly around 5%. This contracted revenue also plays a part on why the UFC keeps breaking their financial records each year since the ESPN deal started.

According to Morgan Stanley, UFC’s US domestic media rights are projected to rise from around $295 million in 2021 to $308 million in 2022. ESPN in turn will naturally find a way to try and recoup these increasing payments.

Technically, it’s indeed not the UFC’s call, but with the way the ESPN deal was set up, the PPV (and ESPN+) price hike has not only been expected, it seems almost inevitable.

That guaranteed figure of over $300 million that UFC gets for 2022 is expected to be even bigger in 2023.

The promotion still broke their financial records in 2022, even with their normal top draws such as Conor McGregor or Jon Jones being inactive for the year. Majority of that revenue is from contractual deals and set fees they get from ESPN, along with sponsors and other media rights deals.

Zion Clark is now 1-0 as a pro MMA fighter.

“No excuses” is tattooed on the back of Zion Clark, who was born with caudal regression syndrome, a rare condition that left him without legs. He also spent most of his youth in foster care. Living up to that mantra, Clark never let anything hold him back as he spent years competing in track and field and wrestling in high school and college.

Now 25-years-old, the former All-American wrestler sought a new challenge and competed in a professional MMA fight this past weekend.

“It’s the same as it was wrestling for me. I just wrestle against able-bodied people, and I beat able-bodied people,” Clark told TMZ Sports. “Now I’m fighting able-bodied people, and I’m gonna knock out able-bodied people. It’s as simple as that. I’m a fighter.”

Clark took on Eugene Murray at bantamweight on his pro debut, using that wrestling background and getting a shutout win by unanimous decision.

After every judge gave him 30-27 scores, Clark officially became 1-0 as a pro MMA fighter. Murray dropped to 0-5.

Apart from competing in sports like track and field, wrestling, and now MMA, Clark also holds three Guinness World Records for the highest box jump with the hands (33 inches), most diamond push ups in three minutes (248), and fastest 20 meter walk on hands (4.78 seconds).

Clark was also featured in a 2020 Netflix documentary short “Zion,” which you can watch in full below: