Fan favorite Donald Cerrone opened up on his decision to retire from mixed martial arts shortly following his loss at UFC 276.
Cerrone (36-17 MMA) squared off with fellow veteran Jim Miller (35-16 MMA) on the prelims of tonight’s fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout served as a rematch as the pair previously collided in 2014, with ‘Cowboy’ emerging victorious by way of knockout.
Cerrone was hoping to snap a six fight winless streak this evening. The former title challenger scored his last victory in May of 2019 when he defeated Al laquinta via unanimous decision.
As for Jim Miller, the New Jersey native had entered tonight’s contest on a two-fight winning streak, having scored knockout wins over Nikolas Motta and Erick Gonzalez in his most previous efforts.
Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller engaged in a back and forth opening five minutes but most analysts pegged Miller as winning round one. After a slip early in round two, ‘Cowboy’ found himself locked in a tight guillotine choke. Cerrone did everything in his power to escape but Miller left him no where to go. Donald eventually tapped out and proceeded to lay down his gloves and cowboy hat on the Octagon canvas.
In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan the fan favorite shared the following words:
“I’m glad my boys got to be here. Here they come now. I don’t love it anymore, Joe (Rogan). It’s hard for me to get up (for this), and this is the longest camp I’ve had in a long time. I’m not complaining to anybody, but I don’t love it anymore.”
Donald Cerrone continued:
“I’m going to be a movie star baby! It’s time to bow out. I’ve got to know when. This was the perfect event man. A soldout crowd in Las Vegas. Talking to you, I’ve got my boys. It was one hell of a career man. Hopefully one day, I’m in the Hall of Fame. Thank you so much UFC.”
Later, in a backstage interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Donald Cerrone opened up on his decision to retire from the UFC.
“I wouldn’t say (I fell) out of love (with MMA), I just fell out of love with training everyday and preparing for the fight and trying to learn new techniques. Like these new kids are so good and trying to keep up with them is f**king impossible. So like going to the gym every week and learning the new skills, like I’ve done it for so long… Now I just show up and go through the motions. You know? It’s like I’m tired of it.”
Donald Cerrone finishes tied for second in UFC all-time wins with 23. He also is tied for second in finishes (16) and overall fights (38). ‘Cowboy’ is tied for first place in most career post-fight bonuses with a whopping eighteen to his credit.
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