A Brief Look Inside the Cowboy's Mind
- MMA News Now
- Jan 16, 2020
- 2 min read
By: Cameron Jones
Saturday night Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone will go up against arguably one of the best and most innovative strikers that combat sports has ever seen The "Notorious" Connor McGregor.
The question on everyone's mind: will Cowboy do as he has stated in interviews recently and stand and trade with a man who has knocked out 17 of his opponents and has never been knocked out himself? First of all, undermining Cowboys striking when he is a very well versed striker would be foolish.
With a kickboxing record of 28 wins, 19 of those coming by knock out, along with 0 losses, this is not a man to take lightly. Boasting an MMA record of 36 wins to 13 losses, he has shown time and time again he can compete with the best. On top of that, he holds the record for the most knockdowns, the most head kick knockouts, the most finishes, the most UFC bouts and the most UFC wins.
Underestimating a fighter of Cowboy's caliber is something McGregor would be wise to avoid, as well as avoiding Cowboy's ground game. Cowboy has submitted 17 of his opponents, while all of McGregor’s losses have came via submission.
So the question stands; why should Donald stand and trade with McGregor?
The reasons as to why Cowboy would do this are few and far in-between. As stated, Cerrone can clearly cut it with the best of them in terms of striking, so it is not outlandish of him to believe he can be the first man to lay McGregor flat. With this being said, he has to choose between risking catching that piston left hand McGregor possesses or attempting to take him down and submit him.
It would be clear to see that Cowboy has the advantage on the mat, however are Cerrone's most recent comments a ruse in order to trick the McGregor camp into thinking he wants a kickboxing fight, rather than taking McGregor down and not letting him breathe for 25 minutes, trying to add another submission loss to McGregor's record?
The nickname "Cowboy" is not something Donald has acquired from just wearing the hat, he is a mans man, a beer drinking, bull riding bad ass, he will want to go out there and put on a show. If that means standing toe to toe with The Notorious one, then he will do just that.
In the past, Cowboy has had issues dealing with the limelight and cracking under the pressure of big fights, which is undoubtedly why he has not held a gold strap in his career. However, I do believe the pressure is off Cowboy for this one, he can go out there and put on a great show, as all eyes will be on the returning "new and improved" Connor McGregor.
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