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“This is my wheelhouse. Taking fights on short notice, when no else is prepared and mentally I’m the strongest. I feel good. I feel hungry.”
Donald Cerrone has opened up about his 40-second stoppage loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 246 in January, admitting his heart is “still hurt” from the fight.
McGregor stopped Cerrone with a head kick and strikes in the main event of UFC 246. The fight with McGregor was the third consecutive loss for Cerrone, he will hope to get back to winning ways next weekend when he faces Anthony Pettis in a rematch at UFC 249.
Talking recently to MMA Fighting, Cerrone said he can’t dwell on the loss to McGregor and instead has to focus on his upcoming rematch at 170-pounds with Pettis.
“My brain was definitely rattled from the ass-whooping I took in 40 seconds,” Cerrone said. “But I feel good. My eye healed up enough. My heart is still hurt, but that’s what makes it a man’s sport. We go in there and figure it out.
“That’s the only thing you can do is to suck it up and keep moving,” he said. “I can’t dwell on that. Can’t sit and worry about all that. I had my moment. I let it go, but at the end of the day, I got in there and did it. I stood with one of the best and I’m proud.”
Cerrone and Pettis first met at UFC on FOX 6 back in 2013, when Pettis stopped Cerrone in the first round with a body kick. “Showtime” also fought on the UFC 246 card that Cerrone competed at, losing by second-round submission to Carlos Diego Ferreira
“They called me about fighting in May, and I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ Why not? It all worked out. This is my wheelhouse. Taking fights on short notice, when no else is prepared and mentally I’m the strongest. I feel good. I feel hungry. Ready to go out there and do it.”