2016 was a hell of a year for Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. After getting starched in just over a minute by then-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos at the end of 2015, Donald decided to put a little more meat on his body and move up to welterweight. The results have been phenomenal: four fights in 2016 resulting in four wins, with all four being impressive finishes.
As always, Cowboy was more than willing to step in on short notice or quick turnaround to face whoever the UFC needed him to fight. He's hoping the formula will continue to provide him with more matches than all the other athletes on the roster. Via FOX Sports:
“Whoever, if I could fight in March. I know the [Woodley vs Thompson] title fight, they’re going to be fighting in March so we’ll have to get a No. 1 contender,” Cerrone said. “Hopefully, Demian Maia will (expletive) want to pull the trigger and not just keep waiting or Robbie (Lawler). Whoever’s above us. I don’t even care. I don’t (expletive) give a (expletive).”
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“(Nick) Diaz turned Robbie down. (Expletive) Maia turned Robbie down. You know who didn’t turn (expletive) Robbie down? Me,” Cerrone said. “I said (expletive) yeah, bring that (expletive) on. That name don’t scare me none. I love Robbie but (expletive) come on.”
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“Let’s do it,” Cerrone said. “If I could get six fights in 2017, my coaches would be happy, I’ll be happy and we’ll get a title fight and defend that (expletive) three times, I’ll be good to go!”
Thus far, Cerrone hasn't been able to get more than four matches in recent years, but he's managed to get those four for three years running, and would have had a longer streak if he hadn't aggravated an old motocross injury in 2012 that cost him a chunk of his intestines. The year before that was his first in the UFC, and he managed to step into the Octagon an impressive five times.
So when Cowboy says he wants six fights in 2017, I'd say you can believe him. Whether the UFC is capable of setting him up with as many fights as he'd like is the only question.
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