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Donald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor

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Saikat Banerjee
Saikat Banerjee
A wordsmith who indulges in the world of combat sports, Saikat Banerjee is an MMA, boxing, and arm wrestling content writer at The MMA India Show and The Sports Room. Apart from combat sports, he also engages in Indian sports content at The Sports India Show. Currently pursuing an MBA from Jadavpur University, Saikat's other interests lie in motorcycling, working out, and travelling.
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UFC 276 saw the conclusion to one of the longest careers in mixed martial arts- Donald Cerrone’s, the former UFC Lightweight contender and welterweight fighter who bid adieu to the sport last weekend. However, “Cowboy” reveals he had already made up his mind about retirement, even before facing Conor McGregor two years ago.

Cerrone faced Jim Miller at UFC 276, a rematch that was eight years in the making. While their first encounter back in 2014 saw a victory for Cerrone, the second outing turned out to be the polar opposite, as Miller forced Cerrone into a submission, marking the latter’s sixth defeat in his last seven fights.

I was doing it for all the wrong reasons: Donald Cerrone

In the press conference that followed, Cerrone revealed his decision to hang the gloves up and stated that while he has materialized it now, the 39-year-old had been ready to retire since a long time, even before his encounter with “The Notorious” back at UFC 246 in January 2020.

“Before I fought [Conor] McGregor, I knew. Then after the McGregor fight, I took another fight and I was just going through the motions. I didn’t enjoy it, didn’t love it. I knew the time was soon I just had to pick the right time. So I took a lot of time off and then called my agent and said let’s get a fight, and I just knew this was going to be the last one,” said Cerrone.

Donald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone faced Conor McGregor at UFC 246. (Image Courtesy: Getty Images)

“My wife played soccer in college,” the former kickboxer went on, “and a lot of the things that kept me going in the last fights of my life was, she was like, ‘I wish I could go back and just play one more game. ‘You have the chance to do one more fight. Go experience it and love it.’ And I was trying to love it, I was trying to find it, and I was trying to experience it.”

“I just was doing it for all the wrong reasons. I was doing it for everybody else and on myself. But retiring tonight, that was for me, and I f****** feel good about it. I’m gonna go home tonight and crack me a nice cold Budweiser and f****** chug it all the way down and be like, ‘Ahh. Good career, Cowboy,’” he added. [H/T MMA Fighting]

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Donald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald CerroneDonald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald CerroneDonald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald CerroneDonald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald CerroneDonald Cerrone says he already planned to retire, even before facing Conor McGregor - Donald Cerrone

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