Donald Cerrone: “I’m Going To Leave When I’m Done”

Donald Cerrone returns to action this weekend at UFC Vegas 11 and one interested spectator is UFC President Dana White.

Cerrone, who is riding a four-fight losing streak, says he’ll eventually leave the UFC on his own terms.

“I don’t even want to think of losing and all the things that could happen, because I’ve trained my ass off and I’m ready to rock and roll, but I plan on being here for a long time,” he said at the UFC Vegas 11 virtual media scrum (via Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting). “I’m going to leave when I’m done. I don’t ever want the walking papers. When Cowboy’s done fighting, I’m going to bend my hat and I’m going to say, ‘Alright boys, I’ve had enough, I’m out.’ I don’t ever want to have them call my manager and release me. That would totally suck. But I’m going to keep fighting my ass off. This fight’s for me, man. All the naysayers, the people that say you’ve lost four in a row, you don’t belong, you should be retiring, I don’t give a sh*t. I don’t care if I need to prove anything. I don’t care if I prove something. This one’s just for me. I’ve got to look at myself in the mirror on Saturday morning and when I go, ‘Let’s go, baby, this is for you, Cowboy,’ I get to have all the fun I want, with no expectations, no must-wins, no must-dos, no nothing. Just go and fight my fight and love every second of it and enjoy it. And that’s how I’m going to be victorious, no matter how the fight comes out – this one’s for me.”

Those four straight losses suffered by Cerrone came to Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje, Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis. White says that everything is on the line for Cowboy at UFC Vegas 11 and that Cerrone needs a win in a bad way.

“I would say everything is on the line for ‘Cowboy,’” White said on ESPN SportsCenter (via MMA Junkie). “In professional sports, the day starts to come where all of our heroes start to get old, and ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is getting there. He needs a win. He needs a win badly.”

UFC Vegas 11 takes place on Saturday, September 19 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada with Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.

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