Mixed martial arts veteran Donald Cerrone suffered a tough unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 132 in Singapore on Saturday, June 23. That being said, “Cowboy” was recently looking to get back inside the octagon as soon as two weeks after the fight.
UFC knockout artist Mike Perry is set to throw down at UFC 226 in Las Vegas, Nev. on June 7 for International Fight Week. The fighter was initially set to face off against Yancy Medeiros.
However, Perry’s opponent was replaced with Paul Felder after Medeiros pulled out of the match up due to an injury. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Cerrone’s coach Brandon Gibson revealed that “Cowboy” was attempting to lock himself in as Perry’s replacement opponent while he was awaiting the birth of his first child following UFC Fight Night 132.
“Friday morning after weigh-ins he ate a little bit and he didn’t feel good. Then Saturday he was feeling really ill, he hadn’t drank much, he couldn’t hold anything down. He was genuinely ill [but] we got to the arena and he was like, ‘Let’s cowboy up and do this.’ He was actually starting to vibe in the warm-up room. I could tell he wasn’t feeling good but was doing his best to get in that mindset. He was gonna go out there and compete.”
“He’s feeling great [now]. If the fight would have been a day or two later or earlier it probably would have been a much better window to see him perform closer to his best. But that’s not how things get to shake out in the sporting world some days.
“He got the phone call [this week] to fight Mike Perry and he said yes. He’s under a medical suspension right now so it’s kind of off the table. His son hadn’t been born yet. Lindsey was probably having contractions. They were at the hospital and he was like, ‘Hey, do you have time to do this? I’m feeling good. I’m ready. I just came off an awesome camp. Mike’s been training out of JacksonWink but no hard feelings. Let’s go put on a show. I’ll step up.’”
“I don’t want him fighting five times a year. I think those days are over, but he’s always gonna be that, ‘I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime’ kind of guy. Some of these, you’ve just got to get up and ride with ‘Cowboy.’ That’s the life he’s gonna live.”
