Donald Cerrone sets sights on Conor McGregor, ‘Just waiting on him!’

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Conor McGregor? Maybe…it seems like the American is definitely interested in sharing the Octagon with the former UFC two-division champion.

Following Cerrone’s win over Mike Perry at UFC Denver this past Saturday, Cerrone reiterated that he would be going back down to his old home of 155-pounds. Along with that, he told reporters that he and the UFC already have an opponent in mind. Cowboy described that opponent as a ‘very exciting’ fighter and McGregor is exactly that.

And with fighters like Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis seemingly out of that equation, it appears that Cerrone is now fully embracing the challenge by calling out McGregor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqJN51zg41d/

Just waiting on him! 🤔. “ I know a guy” 🤠

McGregor and Cerrone have gone back-and-forth with insults for years now. When Cerrone was fighting Rafael Dos Anjos in their rematch for the lightweight title, the consensus was that whoever won the fight would fight McGregor afterward.

However, Cerrone lost that opportunity when he got finished in the first round. McGregor stated following the fight that he believes Cerrone quit.

“Cerrone p*****ds out on that big time,” McGregor told Severe MMA. “He’s fighting again this week or sometime soon. Ask [Jose] Aldo if he can fight this weekend. He cannot fight. When you win by KO, by stoppage, by a true stoppage, you put your opponent out of action for 10 months to a year.

He quit in there inside that Octagon. That’s why he can go now next weekend and say ‘Oh, I fight every week’ and this and that — you can fight every week if you go in and quit. If you were willing to die in there, you wouldn’t have those turnarounds.”

Since then the two have gone their own ways, with McGregor fighting Floyd Mayweather in boxing before returning to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Meanwhile, Cerrone moved up to the welterweight division.

McGregor’s last fight came at UFC 229 where he lost to Nurmagomedov by fourth-round submission, in which he made his long-awaited return to the Octagon. Since the loss, McGregor has demanded a rematch. However, it was also reported that McGregor would fight another fighter before getting the rematch. Well, it appears that Cerrone could be that fighter.

Cerrone’s most recent fight resulted in a submission win over the previously mentioned ‘Platinum’ Perry just last Saturday. With the win, Cowboy became the winningest fighter in UFC history and would present a tough task for McGregor. Cerrone would most likely be the bigger fighter. On top of that, he has a strong ground game that could trouble the former double-champ.

Ultimately, a win for either fighter sets them up for a potential next title shot.

However, one negative to this is that McGregor cannot fight or get any fight booked until the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hands out his punishment for the post-fight altercation at UFC 229.

Currently, the next hearing is set for December 10, where the NSAC will likely either suspend and or fine McGregor. If it is a lengthy suspension, this fight may not have a chance to happen for a while, if ever.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/13/2018