On several occasions, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has found himself on the porch of greatness. But for whatever reason, he just can’t seem to get himself through the front door.
At UFC 131 on June 11, Cerrone should take an emphatic stride forward in the promotion against unheralded jiu-jitsu black belt Vagner Rocha, who is making his UFC debut as a replacement for the injured Mac Danzig. Predictably, plenty are calling it a quick night’s work for Cerrone.
That very well may be. But that may also be beside the point for the Cowboy. Given that Cerrone (14-3-1) has suffered all three of his losses in the only three fights that happened to be title shots, it’s kind of safe to say that, to this point, the Cowboy has found himself snakebitten on the big stage.
Putting it another way, I am inspired by the wise words of Heavy D from all those years ago (and you’ll pardon my paraphrasing here). The question is not whether Donald Cerrone can find success. The question is what is he gonna do with it.
One question for which we have an answer is whether Cerrone has the tools to contend. He most decidedly does. The 6’0” Cerrone uses his physical blend of Muay Thai and submission grappling to manhandle smaller opponents. With six fight of the night bonuses under his belt buckle, he is clearly not afraid to engage.
Cerrone is also on a three-fight win streak that could be evidence that, at age 28, he is putting it all together. In the first leg of the win streak, Cowboy avenged one of his three losses by outbrawling and ultimately outpointing Jamie Varner in front of a friendly Colorado crowd. In his most recent win, which was also his UFC debut, Cerrone showed very strong ground technique in choking out Paul Kelly in the second round.
In the latter, Cerrone’s influence from Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting camp appeared particularly strong. Cowboy fans surely hope Jackson doesn’t imbue Cerrone with some of that risk aversion that has proven fairly unpopular in other cases. Something tells me fans won’t have to worry about that with Cerrone.
But I digress. Assuming Cerrone avoids the upset against Rocha, that should bump him up a notch or two in the division. Though it may not happen after UFC 131, Cerrone should eventually find himself in the top 10 and perhaps the top five. That is where the rubber will truly hit the road for the former bullrider from Colorado Springs. Will the Wizard of Albuquerque ultimately help shore up any mental or strategic soft spots that have left Cerrone short in the biggest spots? Can Cerrone rise with the cream of what has thus far proven a very impressive crop of WEC transfers at the lightweight division?
Donald Cerrone can (and probably will) beat up all the Vagner Rochas he wants to, but until he does it against top competition, his ultimate success will be an open question. This observer is thinking opportunity will knock again for Cerrone. We’ll see if he can answer the door.
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