Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Donald Cerrone, who abandoned the 155-pound weight class late last year, is now 3-0 at his new home, thanks to three violent finishes over the likes of Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, and Rick Story.
As far as those body shots that felled him in the past? Those days are over, thanks to his bigger "biscuit," a benefit of not cutting an inordinate amount of weight leading up to each fight. Once thing he is cutting, however, is the amount of time he spends sparring inside the gym.
"Sparring is all I did, that's what I used to do. I thought that was getting ready for a fight, would just be fucking throwing down," Cerrone said Tuesday on the Joe Rogan Experience (via MMA Fighting). "Now I don't spar at all, and all I do is drill, because drilling is the most important thing you can do. I feel like the little guy at the Wal-Mart check-in, clicking."
"Every time you take a hit to your head, he pushes the button," he continued. "How many people go into Wal-Mart before it's full? I don't know. I have no idea. How many more do I got? How many epic fucking brawls did me and (teammate) Leonard Garcia have in the training room? I don't know."
Sounds like he's following in the footsteps of this former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) rival.
"So, like, I'll get in there and move around with Andrei (Arlovski) and move around with all of the heavyweights, but light, MMA sparring. Heavy takedowns and grappling, but real light striking. But the days of putting the big gloves on and throwing down? Hell no."
This former UFC champion once stopped sparring for six years.
While Cerrone (31-7, 1 NC) is not yet close enough to start asking for a welterweight title shot, there exist a plethora of big-name fights that can help expedite the process. In fact, a UFC 205 showdown featuring this "Ruthless" brawler is currently making the rounds.
Hey UFC, make it happen!