‘Out Of Control’ Donald Cerrone Wants To Fight Six Times In 2014 Because He’s Broke

Donald Cerrone recently got back into the win column with a submission over Evan Dunham at last November’s UFC 167. The win snapped a downward slide that saw Cerrone lose two out of his previous three bouts to Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis. His one win in that span was a decision victory over Strikeforce import K.J. Noons, a fighter who brought in an unimpressive 1-4 record in his five fights heading into his bout with Cerrone.

“Cowboy” was quickly beginning to pick up the dubious distinction of being a fighter who destroys lesser competition but wilts in the face of truly elite combatants. While that theory hasn’t been disproven yet, Cerrone will have another chance to prove he’s back when he faces Adriano Martins at January 25’s UFC on FOX 10. Martins isn’t exactly a top-ranked contender, but Cerrone apparently has other reasons for taking the fight rather than just climbing up the rankings. Recently speaking to MajorityDrawRadio.com, Cerrone admitted that he is broke and needs the money because his spending habits have spiraled ‘out of control’:

“I don’t give a s— either way. Whether I want it or don’t want it. I texted Joe [Silva] after my fight saying I want another fight ASAP. He said, ‘How does Jan. 25 work?’ I said, ‘Great!’ He didn’t even give me an opponent’s name. Then a couple days later he texted me, I said, ‘Yea, whoever. I don’t give a s—.’ Don’t matter. We’re going for six [fights] this year. I like money. What really happened is I spent all my money and now I’m broke.”

“Now I’ve only got one choice and that’s to fight. I got real comfortable financially, kinda let off everything. I lost my fire. I was training and going through the motions. With the last fight with Dunham, I was really considering retiring had I not been able to pull the trigger. I’m just out of control. It’s hard to have money in the bank and want something and then get it. I just f—— buy it. I have no idea what ‘saving money’ is. It has nothing to do with wanting to go broke. I wish I had millions in the bank. I’d never go broke. Lets get that belt and get millions in the bank.”

Cerrone has always been a very active fighter, fighting four times in 2013 and five in 2011. He’s an exciting kickboxer but it did appear that he was simply going through the motions in recent months. He couldn’t mount an inkling of offense against current UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in a UFC on FOX 6 bout that could have absolutely propelled him to the next level, getting finished with a brutal body kick in the first round.

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But ‘Cowboy’ may be in the fight game for all the wrong reasons. If he’s just fighting to obtain his next paycheck instead of looking to become champion, things aren’t likely to play out in his favor against the best lightweights in the world. While money will always be a motivating factor in prizefighting, you can bet that top-ranked contenders like Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez are focused only on one thing, and that’s being the best in the world.

Cerrone, on the other hand, only wants the money that goes along with having the belt around your waist. You just don’t hear fighters say they don’t care who their next opponent is unless they truly don’t.

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He’s now broke, and that can cause a man to fight one of two ways: either he’s going to come in motivated to make more money and defeat Martins, or the financial pressure will be too much and he’ll drop yet another winnable fight. Either way, Cerrone doesn’t exactly fit the bill of what Dana White and the UFC probably want to hear publicly from their fighters, as Cerrone has gotten into trouble with the law before and now readily admits he doesn’t care who he fights as long as money is involved.

Not too long ago, Cerrone was talked about as being one of the best up-and-coming prospects in a stacked UFC 155-pound division. He’s now treading dangerously close to letting his relevancy slip away and becoming a fighter who never realized his potential. It looks like he let the fame and fortune of the UFC go to his head. Can he come back from the lackluster run or is he motivated only by money?

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