There is no question that Donald Cerrone has had a good UFC run. However, all things have to end sometime. In the case of the 37-year-old, losing (technically) five fights in a row is not a good sign. Worse, the UFC may have to tell that to “Cowboy” and president Dana White has that ardent task of doing that.
Cerrone settled for a draw against Niko Price at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley. But as pointed out by Yahoo Sports, the only reason why the Cowboy was able to get the split draw is because Price had a point deducted due to an eye poke. If not for that, the would have suffered his fifth-straight loss.
White did not mince words when he was asked about the future of Cerrone. He knows that what he has to say will not sit well with the 37-year-old but that is a conversation he has to make.
“I love Cowboy and I know this is going to [expletive] crush him and break his heart, but it’s time to have a conversation with him,” White said.
Cerrone has not had much luck in his past five fights. Before Price, he faced Anthony Pettis, Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje and Tony Fergusson. Worth noting is that those fighters had at one time worn the UFC title.
The Cowboy is now 4-8-1 overall. The last time he won was against Al Iaquinta. Cerrone won via unanimous decision in that main event held on May 4, 2019. That clash was even feted as the Fight of the Night. But since then he has struggled.
It all started when he lost via TKO to Ferguson on June 8 last year. Add the TKO losses to Gaethje and McGregor, those were three TKO losses for the 37-year-old fighter. His performance is not what UFC fans were expecting and the time to retire has now been suggested.
For his part, Cerrone did not sound ready to retire following the UFC Vegas 11 post-fight conference. Unfortunately, that is a call that he may not be able to make. Though he could explore other options, it appears White will have to break the bad news to him even if it will break his heart.
Cerrone is not the only one White plans to talk to. Tyron Woodley has also lost his last three fights and White feels that he too should consider retirement.
“I think that he should start thinking about hanging it up,” White said. “He’s had a great career. He’s had a great run. He’s made his money.”
