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Donald Cerrone has addressed his withdrawal from his UFC 274 fight against Joe Lauzon. Cerrone also revealed how many fights he plans to have before retiring.
‘Cowboy’ was scheduled to face Joe Lauzon in a lightweight bout at Saturday’s UFC 274 event. Unfortunately, Cerrone withdrew on the day of the fight due to an illness that was later reported to be food poisoning.
Taking to Instagram, ‘Cowboy’ asserted that he’s heartbroken over his withdrawal. Additionally, Cerrone indicated that he’s competed in 48 fights under the Zuffa banner in the WEC and UFC combined. He announced that he plans on competing in two more fights before hanging up the gloves.
“My heart is broken and torn. I cannot believe I had to make that call. If you know me, you know I only pulled out because I had to. Thank you for the UFC and the medical division for helping me, as far as we could try and make that buzzer, but we just couldn’t get it. I have 48 fights under Zuffa. I am saddened that I couldn’t have my 49th and put on a show for y’all. My number is 50, gentlemen. I’ll retire when I get 50, so I’ve got two more fights left in the UFC.”
‘Cowboy’ thanked UFC president Dana White and his UFC 274 opponent Joe Lauzon for understanding his predicament, adding that he’ll meet Lauzon again. In the caption of his Instagram post, he wrote:
"This is not the way I wanted this fight to go. 48 fights I’ve never had to pull OUT. Thanks you @ufc and like I just said probably 50 is my number!!!! 2 more fights then I ride off into the sunset"
Joe Lauzon on his stylistic matchup against Donald Cerrone
While Cerrone is lobbying for his fight against Lauzon to be rescheduled for another event, it’s unknown as to whether their dream matchup will ultimately materialize. Leading up to UFC 274, Lauzon notably broke down what makes their fight so intriguing.
On MMA Fighting’s What The Heck podcast, 'J-Lau' suggested that Donald Cerrone would’ve been a bad matchup for him five years ago but won’t be as nightmarish now. Analyzing their current stylistic matchup, Lauzon said:
“I think that ‘Cowboy’ and I are kind of different. ‘Cowboy’s a slower starter. I’m a faster starter. ‘Cowboy’ definitely has like, more polished stand-up. I have way less polished stand-up but awkwardly effective. So, like, it’s definitely different. We’re both similar in age, similar in experience, similar in wear and tear.”
Watch the interview below:
