Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone appeared severe when he introduced his retirement from preventing again in 2022 however lower than three years later, he’s already planning a comeback.
The 41-year-old UFC Corridor of Famer introduced plans to return to motion with hopes of breaking a number of extra information and hitting 50 fights below the UFC household umbrella (mixed bouts between UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, PRIDE, and so on). Only a day after Cerrone introduced his plans, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub chatted with him in regards to the resolution to come back out of retirement and struggle once more.
“I actually simply talked to ‘Cowboy’ earlier than I got here in right here as a result of we each do off-road racing and me and him have been speaking about some race stuff,” Schaub informed MMA Combating. “I discussed, I mentioned ‘coming again, huh?’ and he simply began laughing.
“‘Cowboy’s a unique animal the place I might assume the UFC offers him correct matchups. Like don’t toss him in there with these killers. He’s a legend, he’s earned that.”
It’s been a decade since Schaub final competed however he understands that temptation to struggle once more as a result of the aggressive nature of athletes at that degree by no means expires.
In fact, there are quite a few the explanation why it’s so arduous to surrender the game however Schaub is aware of for a lot of fighters it comes all the way down to a monetary resolution. That’s not the case for “Cowboy,” nevertheless, which made Schaub initially query the choice to return to the UFC till he heard Cerrone’s sheer pleasure and enthusiasm about preventing once more.
“I like ‘Cowboy’ — that is how loopy his ass is: ‘Cowboy’ has a really profitable profession outdoors the octagon,” Schaub mentioned. “The one motive most of those guys return is doing it as a result of they’re chasing that dragon, they need the celebrity, they need the eyeballs, they need the competitors, they need the cash. ‘Cowboy’ doesn’t want any of that. That’s how a lot he loves preventing. He goes ‘I simply need to break that fifty/50 membership, 50 fights, all time-finisher, all that stuff.’ Kudos to him.
“I introduced it as much as discuss him out of it, by the tip [of the conversation] I’m like hell yeah! I can’t wait. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s again!”
It’s no shock that Cerrone is an adrenaline junkie — he famously engaged in all kinds of utmost sports activities even near a few of his greatest fights — however Schaub assumed his new profession racing vehicles would scratch that itch for him.
It seems nothing can exchange preventing for Cerrone, which is finally the primary motive he’s coming again.
“I’m simply completely different,” Schaub mentioned. “Don’t get me fallacious, there’s some issues I miss about preventing. Once you’re racing, I race UTV’s, I race Polaris … ‘Cowboy’s doing large boy races. The Nitro Circus and he’s in trophy vehicles and Class Ones, he’s doing large boy shit. It’s intense, it’s insane. We’re speaking about 800 horsepower vehicles, million greenback vehicles.
“If that’s not getting your rocks off, you’ve obtained issues. All of us have our issues. But it surely’s simply not sufficient for ‘Cowboy.’”
As a lot as he’s going to help Cerrone in his comeback effort, Schaub is aware of there’s nonetheless numerous mountains he must climb earlier than he’s able to compete with one of the best of one of the best within the UFC once more.
Maybe the most important impediment is Cerrone’s admitted use of efficiency enhancing medication since retiring as a result of none of that’s unlawful when he’s not preventing within the UFC.
That modifications as soon as Cerrone formally notifies the group of his plans to return to the octagon, which implies he has to re-enter the UFC’s anti-doping program that requires at the very least six months of fresh assessments earlier than an athlete can compete once more.
“What he’s doing as a result of I’m on TRT (testosterone substitute remedy), ‘Cowboy’s on TRT clearly and peptides, no matter,” Schaub mentioned. “I mentioned ‘dude, I don’t assume folks understand what you’re doing — it’s arduous sufficient to be out of the sport after which get again into it. Once you’re on peptides and TRT for years and also you’ve obtained to get off of it, piss clear for six months straight, you’re already towards the chances right here.’ I don’t assume folks understand his physique’s going to alter fully.
“Keep in mind when USADA got here within the UFC and it’s like ‘my favourite fighter appears very completely different.’ It’s going to be like that however on steroids, no pun supposed. What he’s doing is towards all the chances. It’s arduous sufficient if he simply was doing his personal factor and got here again however once you’re feeling that good taking these things and your hormones are good and also you’ve obtained to get fully off of it, that’s a tricky street.”
Clearly Schaub needs to see Cerrone succeed now that it’s clear he’s coming again however greater than something, he hopes the UFC treats him proper.
That’s not about financial compensation however moderately the extent of competitors that the UFC plans to throw at him as a result of Schaub doesn’t essentially must see Cerrone going up towards a string of younger, hungry killers trying to make a reputation off him.
“I hope they match him up proper,” Schaub mentioned. “In the event that they announce his struggle and he’s preventing some killer, we’ll know what they consider him. However Dana [White] loves ‘Cowboy.’
“For ‘Cowboy,’ too, what’s completely different, I used to be discussing this with him once I was in my truck, the quantity of eyeballs he’s going to carry to every part he’s doing — his CanAm racing and his off-road racing, his trophy truck racing, all of the stuff he’s doing and Dana’s Nitro [Circus] — that simply provides worth to ‘Cowboy.’ He’s a bit of completely different and he does have his wits about him. I simply hope they match him up accordingly.”
