Coach: Cowboy sticking to 170 for now

Super coach Greg Jackson appeared recently on the super Three Amigos podcast, and discussed his fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s move to welterweight. It sounds like he is there to stay. Cerrone moved up following a loss in a title fight with Rafael dos Anjos. Cowboy’s first fight at 170 will be a loser loses moniker fight with Brazil’s Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira on Feb 21 in the main event of UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh.

Stephie Haynes: Donald had some strength issues with Dos Anjos, but has since moved up to welterweight. Do you think that move could be instrumental in helping him shore up that problem?

Greg Jackson: “I think so. I think that he was getting so light that he was just wasn’t feeling confident. He wouldn’t open up, he was worried about getting gassed out, I think it’s all of these things that moving up a weight class is really going to help him with. I think that he’s going to be stronger, more healthy, his body is going to be able to absorb damage better, [and] I think it’s an all-around good move.”

SH: So you envision that Cowboy’s career is pretty much, at least for the next several fights, going to be staying at 170 pounds?

GJ: “I think so, unless there’s a really compelling reason to bring it down. He’s been looking really good in training, he’s a lot happier now that he doesn’t diet so hard, and I think he’s going to be more productive.”

SH: Was there anything that Cerrone was suggesting to you that he might move up to 170 even during his winning streak?

B: “No, I think that we just had to re-evaluate what was going on after [the dos Anjos fight]. Cowboy is really smart. People see all this jumping out of airplanes and doing all the fun stuff that he loves to do, but he’s actually a really sharp guy. He’s very self-aware and self-reflective, so he was like, ‘You know, I think I need to move up, I think that these are the reasons why.’ They made sense and I was all for it.”

(1:31:15 mark)