Earlier this week, Donald Cerrone confirmed his rumored match-up with Conor McGregor was dead in the water.
‘Cowboy’ moved on and will face Al Iaquinta in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., May 4, 2019) UFC on ESPN+ 9 from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. But not surprisingly, the specter of MMA’s biggest superstar is still following ‘Cowboy’ around wherever he goes.
Cerrone further elaborated on the oft-discussed match-up during the UFC Ottawa media day via MMA Junkie today. He said the fight was almost booked, with McGregor even agreeing to it. But when McGregor kept drawing things out, Cerrone had no choice but to move on and take another fight:
“It’s just hard. Especially for this fight, we said we’re going to wait for Conor, he agreed, we were supposed to have it done, then he said he needed more time. It kept getting drawn out, so we were like, ‘Nah, not anymore.’ I love fighting, man. I don’t like sitting and waiting. If the fight ever comes to be, I’ll gladly take it. But right now we’re going to chase that belt. That’s the last thing I need to do.”
Cerrone Says Paydays Aren’t That Huge
Cerrone then clarified what he believes to be a common misconception about fighting McGregor. While most believe a fighter will get a huge payday to fight the Irish superstar, Cerrone pointed out fighters are still under contract regardless. He pointed out he may get a small bump in pay to fight McGregor, but it wasn’t what everyone thinks:
“I don’t know about this payday talk,” Cerrone said. “Everyone thinks you fight Conor, you get paid. We’re under contract, man. Now with the ESPN thing, the pay-per-view buys are already done. It’s not like we get – so it’s a big misconception. Conor might get paid. ‘Cowboy’ might get a little bump, but it’s not a $10 million night for me by any means.”
So the so-called ‘Red Panty Night’ that McGregor made famous in a press conference just isn’t the real scenario according to Cerrone. He’s willing to take the fight if it resurfaces, of course. But for now, he wants to stay active and chase the title. If he can obtain that goal, the money will come:
“I need to go get this belt,” Cerrone said. “That’s where the real money is. Aside from the money, I love it – fighting three, four times a year. I enjoy the training camp. I enjoy this. The whole process to me, I’m going to miss the (expletive) out of it when I’m done. Right now I’m in it, and I love it.”
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