Donald Cerrone won his 7th battle in 14 months on Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 59, scraping out a controversial decision over Benson Henderson to extend the remarkable hot streak that has actually made “Cowboy” one of the most desired competitors in the UFC’s lightweight department. And real to form, as quickly as the good vibes settled, Cerrone was currently looking ahead to what’s next.
“Talking with Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta), I believe Khabib is going to be what’s next, for sure,” Cerrone stated at UFC Fight Night 59’s post-fight interview. “I’m going to take a while off and simply get ready and stay ready, and hopefully Khabib will certainly be ready.”.
The Khabib in question is none aside from Khabib Nurmagomedov, the unbeaten sambo savant who comes from that far-off killers’ den of Dagestan and has made the 155-pound division into his own person plaything given that making his 2012 UFC launching.
With a flawless 6-0 record inside the Octagon, and uneven victories on his ledger over Abel Trujillo, Pat Healy, and upcoming title opposition Rafael dos Anjos, Nurmagomedov discovers himself set down at No. 2 on the UFC’s media-generated light-weight positions, just ahead of Cerrone in spite of being sidelined because April 2014 because of a torn ACL.
The two were scheduled to fight at UFC 178, albeit briefly. Nurmagomedov’s injury wound up thwarting that match-up, but now Nurmagomedov is approaching the end of his recuperation, targeting a return sometime in the upcoming spring months. That schedule suits Cerrone just fine, too, since after putting himself through one of the most difficult fight schedules in current memory, Cerrone is more than pleased to take a bit of a trip.
“Seven in a row, guy. I feel excellent. It’s time to take some time off,” Cerrone stated. “Talk with Dana and Lorenzo after this, go see the Super Bowl and go to Daytona 500 and just kind of hang out.”.
“Whatever’s next I’m prepared to take it and fight.”.