Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight veteran Donald Cerrone, who also contended for the division title at 155 pounds, will look to snap a four-fight losing streak when he goes head-to-head with welterweight finisher Niko Price in the upcoming UFC Vegas 11 co-main event, scheduled for this Sat. night (Sept. 19, 2020) inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cerrone, who turned 37 back in March, is going to need a breakout performance this weekend in “Sin City” to help silence some of the retirement talk coming from promotion president Dana White, who is not blind to the fact “Cowboy” has been stopped in three of his last four defeats.
“I would say everything is on the line for ‘Cowboy,’” White told SportsCenter. “In professional sports, the day starts to come when all of our heroes start to get old and ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is getting there, so Saturday night is a big night for him. He needs a win. He needs a win badly.”
Not surprisingly, Cerrone (36-15, 1 NC) doesn’t share White’s outlook. Probably because he’s now a father and has to support his family, as well as himself. And let’s face it, all those toys he likes to play with are expensive to own and maintain, so plan on seeing “Cowboy” around “for a long time.”
“Hell no,” Cerrone told reporters about the possibility of retirement. “No. Not even in my train of thought. I’m planning on being here for a long time. I’m going to leave when I’m done. I don’t ever want the walking papers. When ‘Cowboy’s’ done fighting, I’m going to bend my hat and I’m going to say, ‘All right boys, I’ve had enough. I’m out.’ I don’t ever want to have them call my manger and release me, that would totally suck. I’m going to keep fighting my ass off.”
He’ll need to if he wants to emerge victorious at this weekend’s event.
Price, 30, might be coming off a technical knockout loss to Vicente Luque back in May, but the 14-4 (1 NC) veteran has yet to drop back-to-back fights in his professional MMA career. Throughout his 11 trips to the Octagon, “The Hybrid” has amassed a 6-4 (1 NC) record while recording six equally devastating finishes.
Will Saturday night be the seventh?
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 11 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ 8 p.m. ET.
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