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“Short notice, this is my wheelhouse. I’m the guy they can call any time, I’m ready to go and I’ll go in there and fight my ass off.”
Donald Cerrone knows he has developed a reputation for falling short when the spotlight is on, but the UFC veteran thrives when the spotlight is off.
That’s why he didn’t hesitate to accept a short notice bout against former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 249, which will take place in an empty arena due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Cowboy’ says short notice fights are ‘my wheelhouse’ and looks forward to rebounding from his 40-second loss to McGregor and proving to the world why he’s still one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC.
“Losing sucks – I don’t care who you are,” Cerrone told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin about his loss to McGregor at UFC 246. “So it’s absolutely something I want to get back. This is my wheelhouse. Taking fights on short notice, when no one else is prepared, and mentally, I’m the strongest. I feel good. I feel hungry. Ready to go out there and do it.”
“It’s going to be a fun fight,” he said of the Pettis matchup. “I know what Anthony can do. Stylistically, I match up very well with him. Fun fight, yeah, but the name never matters to me. I never really cared. I’m excited to get in there.
“Short notice, this is my wheelhouse. I’m the guy they can call any time, I’m ready to go and I’ll go in there and fight my ass off. That to me is more important than anything. That’s who I am. It’s cool. It’s fun. I love it.”
Cerrone suffered a first-round TKO loss to Anthony Pettis back in 2013 but is ‘pretty good friends’ with ‘Showtime’ and plans to grab a beer with the former champ after the fight is over.
“Me and Anthony were texting back and forth like, ‘Hey man, did you get your contract yet? Is this really happening? What’s going on?’” Cerrone said. “I’m pretty good friends with most of the guys. So I don’t ever happen any hostility or bad feelings toward them.
“We’ll go out there and put on a show, and then we’ll drink a beer and have a good time.”
UFC 249, which will feature Pettis vs. Cerrone on the preliminary card, takes place this Saturday, May 9 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.