Donald Cerrone will take on former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 213, which will take place around six months after his last fight.
That last fight for Cerrone was a loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC On Fox 23 and after the defeat, the fighter was forced onto the sidelines by UFC President Dana White.
"I would have fought sooner, but [UFC president Dana White] put me in timeout for a while," Cerrone said on the Five Rounds Podcast. "After the [Masvidal loss], he said, 'You're in timeout.' I asked if I could call him for a fight and he said, 'No.' I said, 'Come on. ' He said, 'No.'"
Cerrone is currently on the longest break of his UFC tenure, which started the fighter signed with the promotion in 2011.
Long break or not, the welterweight admits that his last defeat was nothing short of a butt whipping in the end.
"Getting a win at home would have been awesome, but sometimes you've got to take an ass-whupping, I guess," he said. "When the doctor tried to look at me and make sure I was OK -- told me to take three steps forward or he'd stop the fight -- I don't remember any of that s---. So, yeah. It is what it is."
UFC 213 takes place on Saturday, July 8 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
