Ariel is *still* asking fighters about beefs. Some guys never learn. VidProps: Ariel Helwani
Donald Cerrone is one of those guys that will apologize for not kicking a guy’s ass thoroughly enough, even when no drunk frat guys are booing in the crowd. After failing to put away a one-legged Vagner Rocha, Cerrone was visibly disappointed with his performance. Knowing Cowboy, though, no one is in a hurry to give him a hard time about it, including our boy Ariel Helwani.
Helwani caught up with Cerrone to ask him about the fight, his feuds with Mac Danzig and Cole Miller, and who he’d like to fight next. Pretty standard stuff that we’ve covered before, until they start talking matchups. Cerrone hasn’t forgotten about Danzig, whom Cowboy had previously insinuated faked an injury to get out of fighting him. “I’m just talking shit, that’s what I do.” Cerrone says of Danzig. “I hope he’s not injured, I hope he can fight.”
Ariel is *still* asking fighters about beefs. Some guys never learn. VidProps: Ariel Helwani
Donald Cerrone is one of those guys that will apologize for not kicking a guy’s ass thoroughly enough, even when no drunk frat guys are booing in the crowd. After failing to put away a one-legged Vagner Rocha, Cerrone was visibly disappointed with his performance. Knowing Cowboy, though, no one is in a hurry to give him a hard time about it, including our boy Ariel Helwani.
Helwani caught up with Cerrone to ask him about the fight, his feuds with Mac Danzig and Cole Miller, and who he’d like to fight next. Pretty standard stuff that we’ve covered before, until they start talking matchups. Cerrone hasn’t forgotten about Danzig, whom Cowboy had previously insinuated faked an injury to get out of fighting him. “I’m just talking shit, that’s what I do.” Cerrone says of Danzig. “I hope he’s not injured, I hope he can fight.”
If the vegan/shutterbug/fighter Danzig can’t accept a date for Muay Thai foreplay and a consummating chokehold, ol’ Cowboy here will be stoked to fight that Sam Stout fella. You can see how excited he gets talking about a possible Stout fight. While we fully believe that Cerrone enjoys a good scrap and is looking forward to the possibility of a crowd-pleasing stand-and-bang with the Hands of Stone, you gotta think that Cerrone is probably counting his FotN bonus in his head as he talks about it, and mentally calculating how many tractor tires and heavy bags he can buy for the ranch with 70 grand. (We’re guessing A LOT.)
What do you think, Nation? Who should Cowboy get next?
Donald Cerrone faces UFC newcomer Vagner Rocha this weekend at UFC 131, but to hear him tell it, he knows next to nothing about the guy. “I haven’t watched any video on him and I haven’t watched any tape on him, I don’t care,” Cerrone told UFC.com, “I’m going in there to fight him like I’m going in there to fight anyone else.”
Of course, “fighting him like anyone else” means that we could well have a Fight of the Night on our hands, an award that Cerrone has picked up five times in four years. His first fight with Ben Henderson in 2009 was a five round war that was Sherdog’s pick for Fight of the Year. Now 14-3 (1 NC), Cerrone has racked up 12 submissions wins, but he’s not interested in going to the ground. Speaking of his opponent, a noted grappler with four of six wins coming via submission, Cerrone lets it be known that he wants a damn fight. “I hope he doesn’t come wanting to make this a jiu-jitsu match,” Cowboy says.
“…and I call this here the ‘cattle prod’.”
Donald Cerrone faces UFC newcomer Vagner Rocha this weekend at UFC 131, but to hear him tell it, he knows next to nothing about the guy. “I haven’t watched any video on him and I haven’t watched any tape on him, I don’t care,” Cerrone told UFC.com, “I’m going in there to fight him like I’m going in there to fight anyone else.”
Of course, “fighting him like anyone else” means that we could well have a Fight of the Night on our hands, an award that Cerrone has picked up five times in four years. His first fight with Ben Henderson in 2009 was a five round war that was Sherdog’s pick for Fight of the Year. Now 14-3 (1 NC), Cerrone has racked up 12 submissions wins, but he’s not interested in going to the ground. Speaking of his opponent, a noted grappler with four of six wins coming via submission, Cerrone lets it be known that he wants a damn fight. “I hope he doesn’t come wanting to make this a jiu-jitsu match,” Cowboy says.
Vagner Rocha is a Brazilian by birth, but lives and trains in Florida under Pablo Popovitch. Rocha’s 6-1 record includes two wins on Bellator undercards and a decision loss to Bret Bergmark under the Strikeforce banner… and that pretty much sums up the information on Rocha, who most of us know very little about. While his grappling credentials are as legit as they come, there is some concern that he’s too one-dimensional to offer Cerrone much difficulty on the feet.
Cerrone had a few choice words for his previous opponent, Mac Danzig, who pulled out of the fight with Cerrone last month. Danzig started some trash talk on Twitter, saying “So all you have to do to secure a fight you haven’t earned is wear a silly hat, call yourself ‘Cowboy’ and talk trash? Seems strange.” Cerrone did not take kindly to that sort of discourse, and believes that Danzig faked an injury to avoid the fight, responding:
“I wasn’t surprised he faked the injury and pulled out of the fight because that is what happens when you talk shit and can’t back it up. I was very motivated for that fight. I was getting ready to go in there and show Mac why I belong in the UFC. But just because Mac pulled out doesn’t mean I’m not coming for him. He’s still going to get his ass kicked. If he wants to talk shit then he’s going to get his ass kicked. That fight will happen.”
Now, we’re all for guys getting fired up before they step into the cage, but we hope Cerrone isn’t looking past this Rocha fellow. A loss to some random dude would hamper the momentum Cowboy has generated over since his win at WEC 53 in December, momentum he needs to climb the ladder in UFC’s packed lightweight division. But Cerrone has words for Rocha as well: “Don’t come and try to pull guard. I don’t want to have a boring fight and disappoint anybody. So come ready to throw down.”
Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about. Gitty up, Cowboy.
(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)
– Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)
– Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)
– Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)
– Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)
– This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)
– Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)
– Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)
(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)
– Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)
– Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)
– Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)
– Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)
– This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)
– Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)
– Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)
Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC newcomer Vagner Rocha has agreed to replace Mac Danzig against Donald Cerrone at UFC 131, the organization announced late Tuesday evening.
Danzig was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury sustained in training.
Danzig was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury sustained in training.
Rocha (6-1) has competed in Bellator and Strikeforce in the past. In fact, his lone defeat came against Bret Bergmark via unanimous decision at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum last June.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Pablo Popovitch, Rocha steps in on less than one month’s notice to fight the former WEC lightweight champion Cerrone.
Cerrone (14-3, 1 no contest) won his UFC debut in February when he submitted Paul Kelly at UFC 126.
No word just yet on whether the fight will remain on the Spike TV prelims telecast.
UFC 131, headlined by Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, airs live on pay-per-view from Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 11.
Filed under: UFC, NewsThe UFC continues to fill up cards in its busy summer season, slotting a pair of lightweight fights for upcoming events in June and July, respectively.
At UFC 131, Donald Cerrone will look for his fourth straight win in a match a…
The UFC continues to fill up cards in its busy summer season, slotting a pair of lightweight fights for upcoming events in June and July, respectively.
(Vidprops: teezme420)
After suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Mac Danzig at UFC 124, Joe Stevenson is once again riding back-to-back losses, and in desperate need of a victory. While a few UFC fighters (including Danzig himself) ha…
After suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Mac Danzig at UFC 124, Joe Stevenson is once again riding back-to-back losses, and in desperate need of a victory. While a few UFC fighters (including Danzig himself) have been able to drop three straight without losing their jobs, it’s just not something you’d want to leave to chance these days.
According to MMA Mania, "Joe Daddy" will return at UFC on Versus 3 (March 3rd; Louisville, KY) where he’ll face former WEC lightweight contender Danny "Last Call" Castillo. With an overall record of 10-3, Castillo has eaten stoppage losses against Donald Cerrone, Shane Roller, and Anthony Pettis. But after defeating Dustin Poirier and Will Kerr in his two most recent fights, he’ll be coming into his next bout with some momentum. It’s one of those "nothing to lose, everything to gain" situations for the Team Alpha Male member, who is looking to make a dramatic entrance in the UFC. As for Stevenson? Well, he’d better not lose this one.
UFC newcomer Vagner Rocha has agreed to replace 
The UFC continues to fill up cards in its busy summer season, slotting a pair of lightweight fights for upcoming events in June and July, respectively.