What Cowboy wants to teach younger fighters
Donald Cerrone: “I said, ‘Look, man. The Colby Covington approach, you look like a f@$%ing asshole. You look like a complete f@$%ing dick.”
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, 35, fights Leon Edwards, 26, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 132 on June 23, 2018, at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Cerrone is coming off a Round 1 TKO of Yancy Medeiros in February, but was on a three-fight losing streak prior to that, over Jorge Masvidal, Robbie Lawler, and Darren Till. Edwards has quietly built up a 7-2 record in the UFC, and is on a five-fight win streak.
The aging fighter vs. young upstart is a serviceable backstory, but more compelling is their differing approach to trash talk. Cowboy prefers to amiably shake hands, fight like Hell in front of his grandma, then have a beer together. Edwards, perhaps because his skills have largely escaped notice, is embracing his inner McGregor; Cowboy is not impressed.
If I could teach anything to these younger kids — like, why? Basketball teams don’t just hate each other, said Cerrone to Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. Yeah, sure, there’s rivalries. They don’t just hate each other. They don’t spit on each other when they walk by and try, ‘I see in you in the hallway, I’m going to try to fight you.’ You know what I mean? Like, man, let’s be cool and hang out. It doesn’t make the fight any harder or not. So we’ll see, man.
“Maybe these new guys can try to change this sport and make it more of a sport that people can get behind. You want your fans and the people at home to connect and be like, ‘You know what? That Leon, he’s a cool dude. I see where he’s coming from. I can jive with him. Maybe I’ll follow him.’ Not, ‘Oh, that’s guy cool, he’s just a dick everyday. He’s just a piece of s***.’ F***ing whatever.
I tried to explain to him, I said, ‘Look, man. The Colby Covington approach, you look like a f***ing asshole. You look like a complete f***ing dick. Why would you want that? Why would you want people to think that you’re a dick? Be a good guy. Why would you want to be the angry fighter?’ Like, sure, fighting is what we do in our sport, but, dude, we’re also cool people.”
Cerrone is currently tied with GSP and Michael Bisping for most wins in UFC history, with 20. With a win in Singapore, Cowboy would become the sole record holder. So either way, Cowboy is a record holder. And he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child.
