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[Cat--Smasher]

UFC 150 winner Cerrone still targeting Pettis fight, will leave trashtalk to others

"That is a fight I would definitely love to do," Cerrone said when asked about the potential of fighting Pettis. "I've got to try and control my emotions. When I fight out of emotions, it doesn't end up too well. I'm going to just stay away from all the crap-talking.

"We do what we do. The fight's going to get signed, so sign, train hard, and I'll see you when I see you. Other than that, we don't need to talk about it, right?"

In the build up to Saturday's UFC 150 event, which took place at Denver's Pepsi Center, Cerrone openly asked for a bout with Pettis. The former WEC champ's camp accepted the challenge, provided Cerrone could get through Guillard.

That didn't prove to be such an easy task, as Guillard took advantage of an over-eager Cerrone and nearly finished him in the opening seconds of the contest with a dizzying barrage of punches and knees.

"I was extremely hurt, especially the knee to the body," Cerrone said. "You just have to fight through it and keep going. It's probably the worst I've ever been injured in a fight. I just sucked it up and tried to keep my composure."

Cerrone succeeded in shaking out the cobwebs and then delivered some fireworks of his own with a high kick that bounced off the side of Guillard's head and left him vulnerable for a finish.

"I thought I just grazed the top of him, so I didn't realize I connected as well as I did," Cerrone said. "I followed it with the right hand. In training, that's what I was working on. He fades off that way a lot, so we were working on that a lot."

The finish came in just 76 seconds, and Cerrone picked up an additional $120,000 in bonus money after earning the evening's "Knockout of the Night" award and sharing in the honors for the "Fight of the Night."

Cerrone, who's never shy about his love of a nice paycheck, admitted he wasn't going to get to enjoy his reward quite as much as some of the other nine "Fight Night" bonuses he's earned in his UFC and WEC career.

"I'm going to pay some taxes, as funny as that sounds," Cerrone said. "I owe them a little bit of money, so I've got to take care of that."

But more importantly, the result paved the way for the UFC to book the Cerrone vs. Pettis fight that both competitors seem to want. Pettis is currently recovering from shoulder surgery, but he should be able to return before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Cerrone appeared unscathed and could certainly be ready by the time Pettis is cleared to compete.

White stopped short of saying the fight will definitely happen, but he at least seemed encouraged by the possibility.

"I like it," White said. "It sounds like a great idea."

UFC 150 winner Cerrone still targeting Pettis fight, will leave trashtalk to others | MMAjunkie.com

[AnchorPunch]

best news i've heard all day! i like cerrone a lot when he's not running his mouth - great fighter, very exciting, and clearly looks worse when he comes in overconfident.

[Rumble]

Funny, the guy who was running his mouth says he's not going to run his mouth.

Fuck it, it will be a good fight regardless.