Just days after Donald Cerrone appeared as one of five high-profile UFC fighters who are fronting a new fighters association called MMAAA, ‘Cowboy’ appears to be having second thoughts about his involvement.
“As far as the Association goes man, Georges [St-Pierre] and Tim [Kennedy] called me and asked me to be part of it,” Cerrone said at a UFC 206 media day in Canada. “I didn’t know I was sitting on a board. That kind of took me by surprise, sitting there like, oh wow.”
“…I wasn’t sitting there saying, ‘we’re moving forward today, we’re going on strike, we need more money. That wasn’t coming out of my mouth at all. There were a couple of people that were there that I don’t plan on working with and being a part of, not mentioning any names. I was there mostly just, not saying I’m leading a board or I’m sitting on a board, but more voicing my opinion of what this sport needs.
“Moving forward, I’m still going to stand strong with those and say this is what I believe we need. I believe as a whole we need health care, we need some kind of pension for retirement.”
Something else that appears to have given him pause for thought is the fact that UFC President Dana White has publicly stated his surprise that Cerrone didn’t approach him first to let him know what he was planning, despite the two having had a good relationship over the years.
“A couple of years ago, he was on his boat, he gets into a beef with a guy in another boat,” White recalled in a recent interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “He’s in big trouble. Who does he call?”
“He calls me.
“What do I do? I got out and find him the best criminal defence lawyer and I spent more than $100,000 of my own money.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Cerrone has held up his hands and admitted that he was wrong to go behind White’s back with his involvement in the MMAAA.
“I spoke to Dana [White] today on the phone. He’s coming to town, and we’re going to go out to dinner and talk,” Cerrone told reporters. “There’s a lot of things I think this sport needs, you know, retirement pension, health care, things I think we need.”
“…The UFC has been nothing but great to me. I can’t complain, they give me what I want. And like Dana said, I called him and he helped me out. That’s true, man. I was in a bind, he got the best lawyers you can pay, and saved my ass.”
Behind-the-scenes politics aside, Cerrone will look to do what he does best this coming Saturday night when he goes up against Matt Brown in the co-main event of UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada.
