Up until a few days, UFC 187 looked to be the perfect platform for Donald Cerrone to get a lightweight championship shot.
Cerrone, who was won 7 consecutive fights, was slated to take on a top three ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the fight was scratched after news broke this past week that the undefeated Russian suffered a knee injury.
While the number one contenders bout has been canceled, Cerrone still has eyes on UFC 187 as he’ll be taking on John Makdessi, who just got a win last Saturday at UFC 186 against Shane Campbell. It’s not the match-up Cerrone wanted, but he’s not the kind of guy that turns down an opportunity to fight.
“They didn’t give me much of an option,” Cerrone said on UFC Tonight this past week. “I just want to fight. The guy stepped up. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
For a fighter with the track record of Cerrone, he could’ve waited for a more appealing fight, but that wasn’t an option for him.
“I can’t be the guy who says I’ll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime and then not take a fight,” Cerrone said. “I have to keep my word. They gave me a new opponent. I just want to fight. That’s my mentality, I’m excited.”
Although John Makdessi is significantly lower in the rankings than Nurmagomedov, Cerrone isn’t underestimating him.
“I don’t think anyone in the UFC is an easy fight. We’re here for a reason.”