Background and career
Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American former professional mixed martial artist, former kickboxer, and actor best known for competing in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and the Lightweight division of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He is known and respected by fans for his willingness to fight any time, having completed thirty eight fights in his eleven-year UFC tenure. Cerrone challenged for the WEC Lightweight Championship in 2009 and 2010, and the UFC Lightweight Championship in 2015. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2023.
Donald Anthony Cerrone was born in Denver, Colorado. He is of Irish and Italian descent. At a young age, Cerrone was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder but never received treatment for it. Growing up he was considered a troubled child. He would eventually start street fighting and would often end up in jail overnight. When Cerrone was about sixteen, his parents became fed up with his behavior and sent him off to live with his paternal grandmother Jerry Cerrone, who took him in with open arms as Cerrone would later claim. She would sometimes bail him and his friends out of jail after they got into another fight and according to Cerrone himself that the next morning she would never bring up exactly what happened the night before, but instead just repeat the phrase "you know what you did" and leave it at that. Cerrone attended Air Academy High School where he began professional bull riding, thus earning the nickname "Cowboy". At the age of twenty, through the advice of a friend, Cerrone began training in kickboxing and later Muay Thai. After winning a few kickboxing competitions and compiling a Muay Thai record of 28-0-1 (nineteen wins by TKO), he decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
Cerrone began training in mixed martial arts at Inyodo Martial Arts in Gypsum, Colorado. In 2006, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and began training at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu academy.
After compiling a record of 7–0, Cerrone was signed to fight in the WEC. His first fight in the promotion was against Kenneth Alexander. Originally a win via submission in 56 seconds of the first round, the decision was changed to a no-contest when Cerrone tested positive hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic.
Cerrone was scheduled to face Rich Crunkilton at WEC 34, but Crunkilton was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by Danny Castillo. Cerrone won the bout via armbar in the first round. Cerrone then faced Rob McCullough at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. He won the bout via unanimous decision. The performance earned both fighters the Fight of the Night award. On January 25, 2009, at WEC 38 he fought WEC Lightweight Champion, Jamie Varner, losing via technical split decision. The fight was highly competitive and won the Fight of the Night award. However, the fight was stopped prematurely in the fifth round when Cerrone hit Varner's temple with an illegal knee while Varner was still on the ground. Varner was given time to recover, but he was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken hand. Cerrone was again scheduled to face Rich Crunkilton on June 7, 2009, at WEC 41, but Crunkilton was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by James Krause. Cerrone defeated Krause via first round submission. Cerrone and Varner had agreed to a rematch, tentatively at WEC 43, but Varner was unable to receive medical clearance as a result from his hand injury. Cerrone fought Benson Henderson for the WEC Interim Lightweight Championship on October 10, 2009, at WEC 43 in San Antonio, Texas, losing by unanimous decision. Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus award. Cerrone credited Henderson for being "a hell of a fighter" and conceded that he was slow to start the action, which may have cost him the match. Cerrone faced Ed Ratcliff on December 19, 2009, in the event headliner at WEC 45. Cerrone defeated Ratcliff via third round submission. The bout also earned Cerrone Fight of the Night honors. Cerrone fought Benson Henderson in a rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year, this time for the WEC Lightweight Championship on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48. Cerrone lost via first-round guillotine choke submission. Cerrone faced rival Jamie Varner in their highly anticipated rematch on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51. He won the fight via unanimous decision, winning all three rounds. In between rounds, there were often many shoves and obscenities exchanged by both fighters, including a shove at the very end of the match. In the post-fight interview, Cerrone declared he'd be willing to do a rematch in Arizona, Varner's home state, to settle their score once and for all. The bout won Fight of the Night honors. Cerrone instead faced Chris Horodecki on December 16, 2010, at WEC 53. He won via submission in the second round with a triangle choke.
In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Cerrone faced Paul Kelly on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126, replacing an injured Sam Stout. He won the fight via submission due to a rear naked choke. For their performance, both fighters earned Fight of the Night honors.
