Alex Morono believes Donald Cerrone should not retire after handing the veteran another loss, making it five losses in his previous six fights and winless since May 2019.
Questions have arose from fans and media alike whether the time has come for Cerrone to hang up the gloves after the fighter has shown clear signs of declining in skillset the last couple of fights. Cerrone is clearly past his prime and not the gunslinging “Cowboy” that many have come to love.
Many in the MMA community wish to see the legend retire after five losses in his previous six after Morono mercilessly TKO’d Cerrone in the first round. However, Morono still believes “Cowboy” still has some fight left in him and believes he should be able to call his final shots regarding his career.
“I do [think he can still compete],” Morono said after stopping Cerrone in the first round of Saturday’s event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. “At least one more. I hope he is given the opportunity to call his final shots.”
UFC welterweight Alex Morono stepped in on short notice to replace Cerrone’s original opponent Diego Sanchez after the latter was recently cut from the UFC roster after a complicated dispute with the UFC.
Despite the ease in which Morono dispatched of Cerrone, the American believes the fight is not an indication in where Cerrone is in his career but thinks he himself was a bad style matchup for Cowboy and believes the aging legend is still as game as they come.
“I just don’t think this was an ideal matchup for his style and where he’s at in his career,” said Morono. “I think he could have a fight if he wanted to and still succeed. “When I throw that right hook, I throw every bit of power I can, and I think I landed two or three of them, and I put guys down with one, and he ate three of them pretty handily and stayed on his feet. He was still game. He had it in his eye. You can see it when guys don’t have it any more. And looking at him, pre-fight and in the fight, he was down.”
When the Cerrone vs. Sanchez fight was announced, Morono gladly said that he would step in on late notice should any of the two veterans withdraw from the fight. Morono was excited at the thought of facing one of his idols and gladly got his wish when Sanchez was withdrawn.
During fight week, Morono admitted to even being excited to hear Cerrone’s walkout music but was clear that he was coming in for the kill in his fight.
“I’m going to stand and trade until someone goes down,” he said. “I’m going to get into a gunfight, and not for anyone else other than myself. I’m down to firefight – safely and defensively, but I wasn’t afraid of getting clipped to achieve my goal of landing these big punches.”
And sure enough, Morono got the job done with relative ease after landing a solid counter right hand that wobbled Cerrone which spelled the beginning of the end for the 38-year-old veteran. Morono poured on the pressure like a dog after a bone with a series of damaging punches to which Cerrone could not effectively defend himself.
Morono Helps Play Matchmaker For Cerrone’s Next Opponent
When the smoke cleared, Morono switched back to fan mode saying that it was ‘cool’ seeing Cowboy and having some ideas on what should come next for the UFC legend.
“After the fight, after kill mode was turned off, seeing Cowboy there was cool,” he said. “Sad is not the right word. It’s just not. There’s a lot of respect that goes into it, and I do hope he goes to [155] and they give him a good fight.
“Give him [Joe] Lauzon or [Jim] Miller – still game dudes, but a fun veteran fight. If anyone’s deserved any shots to be called in the UFC, it’s Cowboy.”
Competing in MMA since 2006, fan-favorite and a future UFC Hall of Famer, Cerrone fought in his 54th professional bout last weekend and his 36th UFC fight in his long, storied career. Cerrone holds the record for the most wins and finishes in UFC history, (23 wins and 16 finishes). His most notable wins include names such as Charles Oliveira, Edson Barboza, Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Benson Henderson, Iaquinta along with a host of others.
What are your thoughts on Cerrone’s future? Do you think he’s done enough and should ride off into the sunset or do you think he has earned the right to keep on fighting however long he wishes to?
