Retired UFC Hall Of Famer Nears Return, But Dana White Hates The Idea

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is serious about his comeback to the UFC.

On Friday, Cerrone told Adam “Pac-Man” Jones on his podcast that he was back in the UFC’s testing pool, and would need to be clean for six months, and he’s eyeing return in June or July.

In October when news of Cerrone’s comeback attempt broke, UFC President Dana White was asked his thoughts. White wasted no time telling the reporter, “I hate it. I hate it. Love him, hate that. He retired for a reason. For what? If it’s about money, he can do something else. Cause he ain’t gonna fight for the rest of his life, he’s always gonna need to make money. So let’s figure that out now instead of three years from now.”

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Here is a look at the clip, which occurred during the post-event presser following an episode of Season 8 of the Dana White Contender Series.

White also said he doesn’t want to see Cerrone take any more damage.

Cerrone has been open about his use of steroids and peptides during his time away from the Octagon. He’s said he feels great and ready to have two more fights in the UFC, which would bring his total to 50 under the Zuffa banner.

However, Cerrone knows that he will need to detox from the performance-enhancing drugs he’s been taking—legal for civilians, but banned for athletes in combat sports competitions.

Former UFC champion and current analyst Daniel Cormier was openly critical of Cerrone returning to the Octagon.

Despite the pushback from his former peers and the UFC president, Cerrone seems undeterred. White’s concerns are valid.

Cerrone’s career in the UFC was severely on the downturn. He finished on a nine-fight winless streak, with a no-contest against Niko Price in September 2020 being the only decision that kept him from having a worse skid than Tony Ferguson.

Cerrone was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame despite his 36-17 (two no contests) record and never having captured a championship. However, Cerrone established himself as one of the most exciting, durable, and available fighters in MMA history.

In addition to his 55 professional MMA bouts, Cerrone won 21 performance bonuses. Cerrone fought for a championship twice: once in WEC and once in the UFC. He lost a split decision to Jamie Varner for the WEC lightweight championship in January 2009.

In 2015, Cerrone was stopped in the first round by Rafael dos Anjos in his bid to become the UFC lightweight champion.

If and when Cerrone comes back, he says he believes he would compete at middleweight. It’ll be interesting to see who he draws if he makes it through the testing process.

Ferguson would be a logical opponent, though he has never fought at middleweight. A rematch with Conor McGregor makes sense. However, at this point, it would be a bigger shock to see McGregor in the Octagon than Cerrone.

Perhaps Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal would be willing to face Cerrone. Matching Cerrone with any young up-and-comer might set the Hall-of-Famer up to take unnecessary damage.

Don’t be surprised to see Cerrone appear on the prelims of International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Despite his retirement and absence from action, he still has a big name and legions of fans.

Cerrone’s fight would be a strong featured prelim on that card, no matter who he fights.