Donald Cerrone: Fighting At 170 Was Conor McGregor’s Idea
Donald Cerrone will headline UFC 246 on pay-per-view (PPV) opposite Conor McGregor on January 18 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout will be contested at 170 pounds, despite most expecting it to take place at lightweight. UFC president Dana White has described the matchup as a lightweight fight in which neither man is cutting weight. Speaking on his new documentary series, “More Than A Cowboy,” Cerrone offered his thoughts on the fight taking place at welterweight.
Cerrone revealed that the idea was actually McGregor’s, and he thanked the Irishman for the decision. (H/T MMA Junkie)
“He just took the edge off,” Cerrone said. “A lot of cutting that weight… making it to fight week is just battling the weight cut, but now we get to go in there and have fun. Oh, man. Thank you!”
“That was Conor’s idea. We were already gearing up, trying to get down towards 155, and he said let’s do it at ’70 and I was like, ‘Done. Okay’. It never mattered to me — weight never mattered to me either.”
Cerrone and McGregor have both fought at welterweight before. However, Cerrone has shared the Octagon with welterweights bigger than him. McGregor is, arguably, undersized for the division. When Cerrone goes head-to-head with McGregor at welterweight on January 18, he’ll be competing against a man who has fought as low as 145 pounds.
“The only problem me fighting … when I was up at ’70, are those guys are big,” Cerrone said. “Big, big. I’m like 177 right now, 178, and that’s like eating whatever I want. I think he wants to enjoy the holidays with his family and eat and drink, get in there and have fun, so I don’t blame him. Why not?”
Who do you think the welterweight aspect of the UFC 246 main event benefits more?
