Donald Cerrone reflects on first Anthony Pettis fight: “He kicked my liver out of my body”

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has an opportunity to avenge a loss in a rematch against Anthony Pettis at UFC 249.

In recent fights, the UFC veteran has suffered three back-to-back TKOs against Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. However, his first knockout loss came from Pettis. The former lightweight champion body kicked his way to victory in the first round of their 2013 bout. Now, the pair will get the chance to run it back on the revised UFC 249 card on May 9. Cerrone intends on getting back to winning form (without suffering a body kick in the process).

“He kicked my liver out of my body (in our first fight),” Cerrone told MMA Junkie. “It sucked. Of course you always want to get a loss back, but it’s just stylistically a good matchup. It’s a good fight with good fun. It’s a fight the people want to see.”

UFC 249 was originally scheduled for April 18, but was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. To overcome COVID-19 restrictions to live sporting events, Dana White insisted he would create his own “UFC Fight Island” to train fighters and host matchups. Never one to turn down a last-minute fight, the daredevil revealed that he loves the idea of Fight Island, but is down to fight at UFC 249 in the meantime.

“The UFC talked about the ‘Fight Island’ and I put out a post like, ‘Man, I’ll fight on ‘Fight Island,’” Cerrone said. “They asked if I was serious. I said yeah. Then they asked if I could fight in the U.S. and I said yes. It didn’t take much convincing to get me to fight. They called and that was that.

“I’m going out there looking for a win,” Cerrone said. “Three losses is the worst thing I’ve ever done. It’s such a crazy and wild sport, the ups and the downs. This is my wheelhouse. Short-notice fights. I want to win. Go out and there and do what I do. I’m excited for this fight and for this matchup.”

Do you think Donald Cerrone can bounce back from his three-fight losing streak and avenge his loss against Anthony Pettis? Let us know in the comments below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/4/2020.