About Donald Cerrone
By the time the UFC on FOX 11 aired, Edson Barboza had already been hailed as the future of mixed martial arts. The culprit was a series of incredible, forceful low kicks and spinning kicks. In fact, Barboza lived up to his reputation early on in his bout against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at the same event, landing a ton of punches, kicks, and even shocking his opponent with a right hand.
Cerrone is not being stopped by stunning, though, as the tale with him frequently tends to go. Then, as it had so frequently throughout the guy they call Cowboy’s career, it happened: he made that massive strike. In this instance, Barboza was knocked out by a jab—right, that’s a jab. The rear naked choke was applied a little while afterwards.
Cerrone had done it again in an instant. So, this is the tale of the man who is never, ever defeated in a struggle.
Date of Birth: Donald Cerrone was born on March 29, 1983 in Denver, Colorado.
Training Camp, Fighting Organization, and Nickname:
Cerrone trains out of Jackson’s Submission Fighting with Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn. He fights for the UFC. His nickname is Cowboy.
Youth
Cerrone was identified as having attention deficit disorder as a child. Growing up, he was notorious for picking fights, so there were numerous run-ins with the law. Cerrone’s parents divorced shortly after he started attending Air Academy High School, which is also the period he tried his hand at professional bull riding, leaving him to live with his grandparents.
His grandmother described him as Jerry and said, “He was better with us, but he was still a handful.” And one of the causes was that they frequently gave him their undivided attention.
We choose our battles, she claims. “I assured him that whatever he did, I would support him. If some of the things he did were tests for my grandfather and me, he was wasting his time because we always aced them. Never would we ignore him.”
At the age of 20, Cerrone started going to a kickboxing gym in Colorado with a friend, and he quickly became successful.
He participated in boxing competitions once, won numerous kickboxing matches, and along the road started learning Muay Thai.
Beginnings of MMA
At Ring of Fire 21: Full Blast on February 11, 2006, Cerrone faced Nate Mohr for the first time in professional mixed martial arts. He was defeated with a triangle choke in the opening frame. Before the WEC called, he really went on to win his next seven MMA fights.
Work for WEC
During his WEC career, Cerrone has a record of 6-3 with one no-contest. He competed for the WEC Lightweight Championship three times, losing each time to opponents like Jamie Varner and Benson Henderson (twice) (once). One of the greatest fights of all time was his first defeat to Henderson by decision, and along the way in the WEC he defeated fighters like Jamie Varner, James Krause, and Rob McCullough. Cerrone brought his skills to the Octagon after the WEC dissolved.
Beginnings of UFC
Cerrone defeated Paul Kelly in his UFC 126 debut on February 5, 2011, by rear naked choke.
Combative Style
Cerrone is a fantastic Muay Thai kickboxer with the strength to defeat anyone. He can take a blow, and his low kicks are powerful. The latter, combined with his strength, has helped him establish himself as a charismatic stand-up combatant.
But he is also a powerful submission fighter, especially on his back. He’s a stoppage waiting to happen in that regard.
