After being taken out in the opening round of two straight fights, Donald Cerrone is ready and then some to fight at UFC 249, according to Syndicate MMA’s John Wood.
Cerrone is booked to fight Anthony Pettis at the May 9th card, which will go down in Jacksonville, Florida. The fight will mark the second time the two have fought, as back in 2013, Pettis stopped Cerrone with an opening-round, body kick.
Recently Wood spoke with MMA Fighting, and the coach revealed he’s headed from Las Vegas to New Mexico to help Cerrone prepare for the Pettis rematch. While discussing whether Cerrone is keen to avenge his loss to Pettis, Wood reported this.
“From what I see, he’s pretty much the same,” Wood said. “Whoever you put in there (with him) he’s ready to fight. I think anytime you lose to somebody, there’s always a little revenge factor going into it to try to get that back.
That may be in the back of his head. I’m positive this fight’s going to go a little bit different.
“I know right now that he’s fired up coming off a couple of losses. He wants to get back there and in the winner’s and he’s definitely saying, doing the right things.
I believe you’re gonna see a fired up Cowboy ready to open up a can of whoop-ass, that’s for sure.”
Since Cerrone (36-14) doesn’t typically feud with fighters, and because the loss to Pettis (22-10) took place so long ago, it’s not surprising to hear this.
Cerrone is, however, super competitive. So it makes sense he’s eager to score a win after losing decisively in his last two outings.
And how does the renowned coach see Cerrone vs. Pettis II unfolding? While talking about the match-up itself, Wood said this.
“…As I work and kind of flow with Donald, see what he likes to do, we’re just tightening some things up and just be ready for everything.
Pettis is a well-rounded dude and there’s flashes of brilliance there that you have to be ready for. If that dude shows up, he’s on fire and you’ve got to be ready to dig in and do your thing.”
“I don’t think it goes the distance and I think Donald gets his hand raised,” Wood stated. “There’s multiple ways (Donald can win).
A lot of people think of Cowboy just being this striking guy and his striking is amazing, but he is so slick on the ground. His wrestling is good, his grappling is sick, his submissions are slick. He can win it anywhere: a dogfight, going the distance.
“I don’t see this going the full three rounds and I definitely see Donald winning it.”
Yup. There’s plenty of reasons to think this fight won’t go 15 minutes, due to the finishing abilities of both men. It’s also a really pivotal bout.
Like Cerrone, Pettis is also coming off back-to-back losses.
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