{"id":219340,"date":"2017-01-25T08:30:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T16:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=219340"},"modified":"2017-02-02T19:10:26","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T03:10:26","slug":"donald-cerrone-eyes-ufc-gold-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/donald-cowboy-cerrone\/donald-cerrone-eyes-ufc-gold-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Cerrone eyes UFC gold in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2016, fan favorite UFC fighter Donald Cerrone made waves in the UFC’s welterweight division<\/a> as he kicked off the year by making the jump from 155 pounds to 170 pounds to fight Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira at ‘UFC Fight Night: Pittsburgh’. Cerrone picked up a Performance of the Night bonus as he submitted Oliveira in the very first round as he made his successful welterweight debut.<\/p>\n

Cerrone kept the momentum throughout the rest of the year as he went 3-0 at 170 pounds, landing himself at the #5 spot on the UFC’s welterweight rankings after picking up TKO wins over Patrick Cote, Rick Story, and Mat Brown<\/a>, picking up two ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses in the process.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

Now, ahead of Cerrone’s ‘UFC Fight Night: Denver’ scrap with Jorge Masivdal <\/a>this weekend, Cerrone has revealed his intentions of capturing UFC gold by the end of 2017 in an interview with MMAJunkie<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go whip Masvidal\u2019s ass, call out one of these top contenders or call out (welterweight champion Tyron) Woodley, and say, \u2018Let\u2019s dance, baby,’\u201d Cerrone said on the \u201cUFC Road to the Octagon\u201d special for UFC on FOX 23. \u201cI\u2019m going to go get this belt in 2017. I\u2019m coming. It\u2019s mine. We\u2019re just getting warmed up.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While Donald Cerrone is known for his ‘anyone, anywhere, anytime’ attitude, he admits that he now sees the importance of holding UFC gold to cement his legacy:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe title probably means more to my team than it does to me,\u201d Cerrone said. \u201cI used to think, \u2018I\u2019m here to fight.\u2019 I didn\u2019t have the same mentality that I do now. I feel a little more mature in the game, a little different.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Jorge<\/p>\n

In regards to his upcoming opponent, Cerrone admits he isn’t all too familiar with Masivdal, but he also doesn’t care.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know if I\u2019ve ever seen Masvidal fight,\u201d Cerrone said. \u201cI think he\u2019s like a boxer, wrestler. Pretty good jiu-jitsu. Sounds like he\u2019s pretty good at striking. I don\u2019t know how his wrestling is. I\u2019m going to bet I\u2019m better at all three.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a winner; that\u2019s what I like to do,\u201d Cerrone said. \u201cBut at home in front of everybody? I ain\u2019t losing. No way, no how. I\u2019m coming hard. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n