Donald Cerrone has been a professional MMA fighter for over 14 years and a part of the UFC roster for almost a decade now.
Cerrone, in a video posted on his Youtube channel, states that his professional MMA career is winding down (transcript via Damon Martin of MMA Fighting):
“This is the last run. This is it. I don’t have much left in me, timewise. If I’m going to really say this is my last run, really give it all. I’d rather go out when I want to. Go perform, enjoy it and then kick off the boots while I’m still flying through the air, call it a day. Not get cut, or everyone telling me I need to slow down or stop.
“I want to retire when I want to retire. I don’t care about what everyone else wants to say. Realistically, I’ve probably got a couple years left. That’s probably four or five fights left in me.
“Now I can see the end of the tunnel – it’s there. We’re at the end of the tunnel. So now it’s at the point where we’re talking legacy and we’re talking what do I want to look back on. So no longer am I in the middle kind of doing it, now I’m at the end.
“Like all right now, I don’t want to end like this. I want to end kicking ass. I’m going to do everything in my power to end like that. Now if it doesn’t go like that, it doesn’t go like that, but at least I can tell the kids, ‘Man, that’s all I had kids.’ But I don’t think that’s going to be the case.
“The Conor McGregor fight, 100 percent. Talk about not wanting to be there. That was me fight day. I didn’t want to be nowhere [near that]. Slow starter, no starter, didn’t want to be there. That was me. It sucked. On the biggest stage, still to this day that’s the biggest pay-per-view sold fight ever, right? Everyday I look at that poster like it sucks. That’s good. I need that motivation.
“Talk about the biggest letdown ever. That was it. Biggest moment to shine. That kills me all the time. Like quitting. Didn’t even want to be there. That burns.
“I’m looking to fight next year. Here we are in November training. I want to get up to the point where I’m at 175 [pounds], I’m in shape and I’m kicking ass. Now let’s take a fight. Now I have eight weeks, 12 weeks, whatever it is to just dial it in. That’s my plan.
“I got two years left. Let’s go. Let’s make these the last, the best. If it’s going to be my last ride, I want to ride the biggest and baddest and jump off while she’s still kicking and go.
“If I’m going to do it and make a run, I’m going to give it my all. I don’t want to half-ass it.”
The fighter is winless in his past five fights and he hasn’t picked up a victory since defeating Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night Ottawa in May of 2019.
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