Going into Saturday nights UFC 202 pay-per-view, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone had been tearing it up since making his jump to welterweight. Following his win against Rick “The Horror” Story, it is now decision time–welterweight versus lightweight.
The story-line was no different last night, as “Cowboy” broke out the big guns against Rick Story and earned himself a second round (T)KO victory. Cerrone used a body punch and a perfectly timed head kick, forcing Story to turn his back on the Cerrone. From there he finished him off with a plethora of strikes. To date, this was the most impressive win Cerrone has had since moving to welterweight, as he took out a household name in the division. So, what comes next for Cerrone?
Following Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s win against Rick “The Horror” Story, it is now decision time–welterweight versus lightweight.
Cerrone is currently no longer under contract to the UFC. It is also being reported that Bellator has made a very big offer to Cerrone. The offer as it stands would see hime making about $370,000 per fight. However, it is believed that he will re-sign with the UFC, given the comments he made before Saturday night’s fight. He claimed, that with a win over Story, he wanted a rematch with current UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez.
“I gotta think I gotta go to 155,” Cerrone said in his UFC 202 post-fight interview. “I think Eddie Alvarez got something that belongs to me. Let’s go. Madison Square Garden. Me and Eddie. How about that?”
Cerrone is in an interesting position because he has found great success in an already stacked welterweight division. So should he go back to lightweight or stay at welterweight? Lets look at the argument for both.
What happens if Cowboy stays at welterweight?
Dana White has already claimed that Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will get the first shot at new welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Woodley dispatched former champion Robbie Lawler from his throne when he knocked him out in the first round of their bout last month at UFC 201, in Atlanta. You also have to keep in mind, #4 welterweight Demian Maia takes on #5 welterweight Carlos Condit next week in the main event at UFC Vancouver. And that could very well be a potential contender eliminator for the Woodley/Thompson winner. So what fight should “Cowboy” get?
He just beat the number nine ranked fighter in Story, so that should launch him into the top ten. The first name that comes to mind for a fight with Cerrone would be Lawler. Another name would be, current free agent and number three ranked welterweight, Rory MacDonald. However, it remains to be seen if MacDonald will even be back with the UFC. Another possibility of a fight might be for him to face-off with the sixth ranked Kelvin Gastelum. Who is coming of a unanimous decision win at UFC 200 over Johny Hendricks.
What about lightweight?
If Cerrone were to go back to the lightweight division it would be tough to see where exactly he fits in. An interesting opponent could be Tony Ferguson. Though he is fighting Rafael Dos Anjos November 5 in Mexico City. Another name is Nate Diaz, this bout would be a rematch of their entertaining first fight. However, after his fight last Saturday night, Diaz claimed he will not fight again unless it is a third fight with Connor McGregor. So that takes care of the current number two, three, and four ranked lightweights. Currently we do not know who champion Eddie Alvarez will get in his first title defense. It could very well be against number one ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As mentioned before Cerrone has said wants a rematch with Alvarez, but would he get it before Nurmagomedov? Or would Dana make him fight Cerrone before Alvarez? If the UFC decides to give Nurmagomedov the automatic shot, the only possible fight Cerrone could get, against a top five opponent, would be against Edson Barboza. He is ranked fifth in the division. Another rematch.
It is also worth mentioning that White does not like the idea of Cerrone moving back to 155 as he told that to UFC reporter Megan Olivi.
Either way, it looks like “Cowboy” has a long road ahead of him before he gets a title shot in either division. However, it will be interesting to see what happens once he does book his next fight.
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