Tag: UFC Gdansk

As the No. 6-ranked welterweight in the stacked UFC 170-pound waters, longtime top contender Donald Cerrone has seen the criticism of his match-up versus unranked Darren Till in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., October 21, 2017) UFC Fight Night 118 from the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.

Looking to rebound from two losses to Robbie Lawler and Jorge Masvidal, he knows that facing a relatively unknown name in Till is a huge risk for him and a massive opportunity for the 24-year-old Brit, turning the bout into a sort of lose-lose proposition.

But ‘Cowboy’ recently described the real situation to MMA Junkie, noting that the MMA audience was gullible to believe fighters when they claim they’ll fight anyone anywhere, with many actually picking and choosing their bouts much more carefully than publicly flaunted. Wanting to get back in the Octagon as always, he said fighters turning down fights is a major trigger for him:

“The MMA audience is so stupid,” Cerrone said. “They just think because a guy says, ‘I’ll fight anybody,’ that means they’ll do it. No, that’s not true. They said they’ll fight anybody in public, and then when they get the call and their manager sits down with them and they’re like, ‘They offered us ‘Cowboy’ and their manager says, ‘Stylistically I don’t know if that’s a good matchup for you right now, you’re coming off a loss’ and blah, blah blah.

“Then they say they didn’t turn it down, but their management turned it down and it’s not them doing it, ‘I didn’t turn it down.’ To me that drives me (expletive) through the wall.”

No details came of whom may have turned down a fight with him in Poland, so ‘Cowboy’ gave his respect to Till for fighting a ‘legend’ with only a few UFC bouts to his name. He saw the young version of himself in Till, because neither will turn down a fight.

That said, he acknowledged how big of an opportunity this was for ‘The Gorilla,’ while simultaneously admitting it didn’t make all that much sense for him career-wise:

“For Darren to say, ‘You know what, I’ve only had a couple fights, I’ll fight a (expletive) legend, let’s go.’ Dude, right on, bro,” Cerrone said. “I was that son-of-a-(expletive) kid. I remember taking those fights. My hat’s off to the kid. The steam’s running on him. Good opportunity for him. But people say no all the time. It’s (expletive) asinine to me.

“Career-wise, is this a smart fight moving forward in my direction in the rankings? Probably not. This does me nothing. It does something for Darren if he wins. He could do some serious leap-frogging, but for me, nothing. Why be the guy that says I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime – oh, except for him? If I say that I have to live by it.”

Indeed Cerrone has been criticized for perhaps even fighting too much and not allowing his body to rest in between bouts, but for better or worse, it’s who he is and the reason why he’s a fan favorite.

He’s also a true throwback to an era of fighters who would fight anyone, anywhere, and it’s possible there’s never been a fighter more willing to step up on short notice in MMA history. Whether that’s good or bad for his career longevity doesn’t matter, because even if “Cowboy” knows fighting Till does nothing for him in a rankings sense, he simply wants to get in the cage and do what he’s best at.

Even if that means risking becoming a ‘gatekeeper’ for one of Europe’s potential future stars of the sport.

The post Donald Cerrone Calls MMA Audience ‘So Stupid’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Unbeaten in 16 professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts, rising UFC welterweight Darren Till will have an opportunity to launch his under-the-radar career into the stratosphere when he meets longtime veteran Donald Cerrone in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., October 21, 2017) UFC Fight Night 118 from the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.

The Liverpool-born Till has impressed in four UFC bouts thus far, winning three and participating in a “Fight of the Night”-winning majority draw with Nicolas Dalby in his second UFC bout. But he’s yet to face an opponent with even close to the resumé of “Cowboy,” who has long faced the best the UFC has to offer at both lightweight and welterweight.

That isn’t going to scare off the 24-year-old prospect, however. “The Gorilla” recently laced into Cerrone courtesy of MMA Fighting, offering his belief that ‘Cowboy,’ who’s lost his last two, will be looking to take him down in Poland because he’s now “too old” to be standing with him:

“Donald Cerrone is going to take me down. He’s coming to take me down. He’s too old and fragile to be standing with a guy like me.

“C’mon, look at the f**kin’ size of me for f**k’s sake! I’m twice his size, how the f**k is he going to strike with me? He’s coming to take me down, that’s his gameplan. I don’t fault him for that. He’s getting old and he’s twice my age. Do not stand with me, you will die.”

Till appears to certainly play the part of a self-promoting fighter, something that clearly plays into his favor in today’s trash talk-centered MMA climate. But stating that he’s twice the size of Cerrone may be a stretch because ‘Cowboy’ is actually one inch taller than Till. Till does own a one-inch reach advantage, but that’s hardly twice that of Cerrone.

Cerrone also – and obviously – brings in a long body of work against the world’s top fighters, something Till has barely begun to scratch the surface of creating. That doesn’t matter to him, who said he still brings a ton of his own experience throughout a blossoming career where no one has been able to hand him a single defeat.:

In his eyes, it will take a special fighter to hand him that defeat – and Cerrone is not that opponent:

“Cerrone is the old generation and he’s fighting the new generation. He can say what he likes about him having more fights than me, but let’s get something straight – I’ve been fighting since I was 12 years old.

“I had my first professional fight when I was 15, so I’m no stranger to experience in fights. I’ve had my fair share and still, no one has been able to beat me in MMA. You can say what you like – I haven’t fought the top guys or whatever – but no one has been able to take my undefeated record so far.

“It’s going to have to be a very special person that beats me, and it ain’t Cerrone.”

The post Darren Till Offers Brutal Prediction For ‘Old & Fragile’ Donald Cerrone appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.