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What's the story?
Donald Cerrone improved on his record of the most wins in UFC history by knocking out and finishing Alexander Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 143: Dillashaw vs Cejudo. "Cowboy" was quick to call out Conor McGregor for a fight at 155 lbs; Conor has responded to Cerrone's challenge via Twitter.
In case you didn't know..
Cowboy Cerrone made the return to his original fighting weight division at UFC Fight Night 143 as he fought the highly hyped up young talent Alexander Hernandez in a 3-round Lightweight bout. Cerrone returned to the Lightweight division after a hiatus of nearly 2 years, in which he tested the waters at Welterweight and tried to make a run for the 170 lbs title. Cerrone's welterweight campaign didn't bear him much fruit as he lost 5 fights out of the 10 he fought at welterweight.
Cowboy last fought Mike Perry at UFC Fight Night 139 where he finished Perry in the first round with a vicious armbar. Cowboy announced his plans to drop down to Lightweight after the Perry win and also called out Conor McGregor and the reigning Lightweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The heart of the matter
Donald Cerrone showcased vintage form in his return to the Lightweight division and handed the up and comer Alexander Hernandez his first UFC loss by knocking Hernandez out with his patented head kick and follow-up ground and pound in the second round of the fight.
Cowboy improved on his record of the most victories and finished in UFC history and also became the fighter with the most victories in the UFC/WEC/Pride/Strikeforce history with 28 wins. Cerrone took to the mic after his knockout victory over Hernandez and called out the former champion Conor McGregor for a fight. Watch the post-fight interview below.
Cowboy and the UFC fans all around have been rallying for a fight between McGregor and Cerrone ever since Cowboy announced his return to Lightweight and Conor was defeated by Khabib in their title fight. And finally, it seems that this fight might materialise after all. For the first time, Conor McGregor has responded to Cowboy's call-out as he took to Twitter praising Cowboy's performance and saying "I'll fight you".
What's next?
Conor's response has the entire MMA community stoked and already hyped up for a fight between two of the biggest superstars in MMA history in Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone. With Conor's response to Cerrone's challenge, a fight between these two octagon warriors seems a very real possibility now. Cerrone had been a perennial top-5 contender at 155 lbs before his move-up to Welterweight and has been a fan favourite too.
Cerrone is more motivated and focused on making a run at the lightweight title than he has ever been before which makes Cowboy a dangerous and very intriguing challenge for the former champion McGregor. It's uncertain at this point if this fight actually happens, but we all can expect more from this story in the coming days and hopefully,an official announcement to be followed soon.
