-- TRANSCRIPT -- Episode 002 - Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone Welcome to Three Piece With The Soda, Mixed Martial Arts opinion and commentary presented to you in 3 quick shots and 1 longer, more substantial serving. I'm your host, Max Respect. There are few mixed martial artists who embody the warrior spirit as well as does Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. One could argue convincingly that this podcast would be just as aptly titled if it were named, "I know a guy" JAB: That go-to quote of Cerrone's perfectly expresses his unflaggingly enthusiastic gameness. Anyone, any time, anywhere is not just posturing bro-speak for Cowboy, but the motto by which he absolutely lives. He has an established track record of taking on top-tier opponents on short notice, and has been successful under those conditions far more often than would be reasonable to expect. This ethic of taking on all comers has made him a living legend in the sport, a crowd favorite, and a UFC record holder many times over, but the one thing it has not made him is a title-holder. Winning a title in the UFC requires a much safer strategic approach to accepting fights than Donald Cerrone has ever shown the patience to employ in his Mixed Martial Arts career. HOOK: Go back to UFC 238 and watch the end of round 1 again. An extremely competitive round is concluding as Cerrone bloodies Tony Ferguson's right eye and eats a couple of kicks to the body. As soon as the buzzer sounds, Cerrone breaks into a huge grin, clasps hands with Ferguson, and makes an exuberant exclamation to tony while smiling and nodding his head enthusiastically. Despite being widely recognized as one of the weirdest and most idiosyncratic personalities in Mixed Martial Arts, Ferguson seems dumbfounded by Cowboy's enthusiasm. While perhaps nothing more than confusion, it's the closest thing to fear that's ever crossed Tony Ferguson's face while in the octagon. Donald Cerrone may very well be the only man to have ever vexed El Cucuy, and he did it not with trash talk or posturing, but with the simple joy of violence. STRAIGHT: The most dangerous foe Donald has faced throughout his career has been himself. Seemingly incapable of turning down a fight, Cowboy is ever willing to risk it all not for glory, money, or even success, but for the sheer thrill of facing off one-on-one against another man and seeing who is the best in that place and on that day. Despite that eternal willingness to take a fight, it's not always the best Donald Cerrone that is available to show up on a given night. Notorious for not studying tape on his opponents, a lack of strategy has been his downfall during numerous contests. As has been his inability to take time off from the sport he loves unless forced to do so by a doctor or an athletic commission. But at UFC 238, Cerrone made perhaps his most blatant display to date of self-sabotage: blowing his broken nose just before the starting bell of round three, immediately swelling closed his right eye and warranting a doctor's stoppage. Why Cowboy blew his nose, bucking not only the collective conventional wisdom of all combat sports but his own deep and varied experience, we will never know. And how his tilt against Tony Ferguson might have played out had he not is equally unknowable. Yes, Ferguson had very convincingly won the second round. Yes, Cowboy already had a broken eye orbit at that point. And, yes, Cerrone had faded substantially throughout the second round. But if there's one man who might have overcome all of that to stop El Cucuy for the first time in twelve fights, that man is the man we call "Cowboy". Haterade: Cerrone has been a complete Mixed Martial Artist since before that was even a thing. Because of this he has amassed and astoundingly well-rounded record of wins, including seven 7 wins by head kick, 3 wins due to other strikes, 8 wins by Triangle choke, 5 wins by rear naked choke, 4 wins by armbar, and 9 wins via unanimous decision. Whi(continued)

3 Piece With The Soda

Max Respect

3 Piece With The Soda - Episode 002 - Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone

JUN 15, 20195 MIN
3 Piece With The Soda

3 Piece With The Soda - Episode 002 - Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone

JUN 15, 20195 MIN

Description

-- TRANSCRIPT -- Episode 002 - Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone Welcome to Three Piece With The Soda, Mixed Martial Arts opinion and commentary presented to you in 3 quick shots and 1 longer, more substantial serving. I'm your host, Max Respect. There are few mixed martial artists who embody the warrior spirit as well as does Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. One could argue convincingly that this podcast would be just as aptly titled if it were named, "I know a guy" JAB: That go-to quote of Cerrone's perfectly expresses his unflaggingly enthusiastic gameness. Anyone, any time, anywhere is not just posturing bro-speak for Cowboy, but the motto by which he absolutely lives. He has an established track record of taking on top-tier opponents on short notice, and has been successful under those conditions far more often than would be reasonable to expect. This ethic of taking on all comers has made him a living legend in the sport, a crowd favorite, and a UFC record holder many times over, but the one thing it has not made him is a title-holder. Winning a title in the UFC requires a much safer strategic approach to accepting fights than Donald Cerrone has ever shown the patience to employ in his Mixed Martial Arts career. HOOK: Go back to UFC 238 and watch the end of round 1 again. An extremely competitive round is concluding as Cerrone bloodies Tony Ferguson's right eye and eats a couple of kicks to the body. As soon as the buzzer sounds, Cerrone breaks into a huge grin, clasps hands with Ferguson, and makes an exuberant exclamation to tony while smiling and nodding his head enthusiastically. Despite being widely recognized as one of the weirdest and most idiosyncratic personalities in Mixed Martial Arts, Ferguson seems dumbfounded by Cowboy's enthusiasm. While perhaps nothing more than confusion, it's the closest thing to fear that's ever crossed Tony Ferguson's face while in the octagon. Donald Cerrone may very well be the only man to have ever vexed El Cucuy, and he did it not with trash talk or posturing, but with the simple joy of violence. STRAIGHT: The most dangerous foe Donald has faced throughout his career has been himself. Seemingly incapable of turning down a fight, Cowboy is ever willing to risk it all not for glory, money, or even success, but for the sheer thrill of facing off one-on-one against another man and seeing who is the best in that place and on that day. Despite that eternal willingness to take a fight, it's not always the best Donald Cerrone that is available to show up on a given night. Notorious for not studying tape on his opponents, a lack of strategy has been his downfall during numerous contests. As has been his inability to take time off from the sport he loves unless forced to do so by a doctor or an athletic commission. But at UFC 238, Cerrone made perhaps his most blatant display to date of self-sabotage: blowing his broken nose just before the starting bell of round three, immediately swelling closed his right eye and warranting a doctor's stoppage. Why Cowboy blew his nose, bucking not only the collective conventional wisdom of all combat sports but his own deep and varied experience, we will never know. And how his tilt against Tony Ferguson might have played out had he not is equally unknowable. Yes, Ferguson had very convincingly won the second round. Yes, Cowboy already had a broken eye orbit at that point. And, yes, Cerrone had faded substantially throughout the second round. But if there's one man who might have overcome all of that to stop El Cucuy for the first time in twelve fights, that man is the man we call "Cowboy". Haterade: Cerrone has been a complete Mixed Martial Artist since before that was even a thing. Because of this he has amassed and astoundingly well-rounded record of wins, including seven 7 wins by head kick, 3 wins due to other strikes, 8 wins by Triangle choke, 5 wins by rear naked choke, 4 wins by armbar, and 9 wins via unanimous decision. While any and all methods of finishing a match are available to Cerrone, the one thing he seems incapable of delivering is a boring fight. At UFC 238, Fergusson was an extremely dangerous fight for Cerrone to take, which seems to be his favorite kind. When I heard he would be fighting Tony Fergusson, my first thought was, "Why, Cowboy, why?!?" But the answer is obvious: Donald Cerrone feels most alive when he is putting it all on the line: his body, his mind, his career, his future, his legacy, his very life ... the more skin he has in the game the better. When Conor McGregor appeared to agree to fight Cerrone on Instagram, I don't think there's an MMA fan whose heart didn't soar at the prospect of such a lucrative and well-deserved opportunity for the future UFC hall of famer. But we all knew it was too good to be true. There's an incredible amount of B.S. that comes part and parcel with fighting Conor McGregor, and nobody who has followed Cerrone's career for more than a few minutes would expect him to be willing to jump through the hoops, pose for the cameras, and play the silly media games required of an opponent facing Mystic Mac. In the end, the fans seem more disappointed by this missed opportunity than does Cerrone himself. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is everything a Mixed Martial Artist should be: an elite athlete, a master martial artist, and a fighter's fighter who shows his opponents the Maximum Respect by always bringing the toughest fight he possibly can. What more could we possibly ask of him? Outro: That's the bottom of the Big Gulp for this episode. To support this podcast go to Patreon.com/3PieceWithTheSoda. Join us next time for a look at Henry "The Messenger" Cejudo here on Three Piece with the Soda.