Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone Seeks Redemption at WEC 48

It won't be the first time Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone will have challenged for the WEC Lightweight Championship, and it also won't be the first time he's shared the Octagon with Ben "Smooth" Henderson.  

Unfortunately for Cerrone, he came up short in both bouts.

Luckily for "Cowboy," this Saturday night in the co-main event of WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber  at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, he not only gets the opportunity to avenge a loss but add the title of Champion to his resume as well.

It's an opportunity that doesn't come around every day for a fighter, and it certainly isn't lost on Cerrone.

"Obviously, my goal is to be a World Champion, that’s why I'm in the sport. But knowing that I can avenge a loss and become WEC Champion, what more could you ask for?" Cerrone recently stated to Bleacher Report.

Cerrone's first bid at the title came back in January 2009 where he dropped a split technical decision to Varner after an illegal knee landed by Cerrone rendered Varner unable to continue.  

It was a tough fight which left a bitter taste in the mouths of both the champion and challenger.  In the following months, Varner and Cerrone would exchange verbal jabs that rivaled the strikes they threw inside the cage.

"As a fighter I respect Varner, he has some great skills. But as a man, I don’t care for him. Prior to our fight we were cool, even right after it.

"But then the next few weeks he started discrediting me and saying I don’t belong in the same cage as him, and that he beat my ass, etc.

"Truth is, he broke. He took the easy way out, not me. Id love to fight him again, but honestly he’s not on my radar, I don’t care about Varner," said Cerrone.

The one man he remains focused on is current WEC Lightweight Champion Ben "Smooth" Henderson.

Henderson earned his shot at Varner's title (which he claimed via third-round submission) by narrowly edging out Cerrone back in October of last year in the main event of WEC 43.  

Of the thousands that made their way to the ARCO Arena, none watched more closely in anticipation of the outcome than Cerrone.

"I thought Ben did what he had to do to win. Ben is a very tough competitor and if you give him an opening, he will take it. I didn’t really have a preference on who I wanted to fight. Line em up, I'm coming for both of them. I have unfinished business with both," declared Cerrone.

Both Cerrone and Henderson left it all in the cage during their three round affair making for one of 2009's most entertaining fights.  No one will argue that it was a close fight.

However, some observers felt that "Cowboy" had done enough to get the nod.  Even Cerrone himself acknowledges that it was a tough one to score.

Cerrone recalls, "I thought Ben won rounds 2 and 3, and I won 4 and 5 for sure. Round 1 is very tough to call, I threw a lot of submissions at him for 2-3 minutes, but he was able to finish strong.

"Honestly, I was just excited that the fans loved the fight. I had a great time in that fight, so I'm glad we can do it again!"

Following the Henderson loss, Cerrone would rebound with a third round submission win over Ed "9mm" Ratcliff.  Heading in to the bout with Ratcliff, Cerrone vowed that he would come out more aggressively as opposed to the slower starts that he has produced in the past.

"All camp long, I was saying 'I'm gonna come out fast', and I knew I needed to. So I sprinted across the cage, but I really hadn’t thought about what I'd do next. 

"For this fight, I need to control the take downs and be very active. Obviously at some point Ben will take me down, but I can't just relax; I need to be active," declares Cerrone.

While he was able to get away with a slow start against Ratcliff, history shows that it would be in his best interest to take the early rounds, which would have made the difference in his first fight with Henderson.

Other than mentioning a few changes heading into the rematch with Henderson, Cerrone is understandably keeping most of his game plan a secret.

"I don’t really watch tape. Greg [Jackson] does, and puts together a game plan. It's my job to execute the game plan. As far as what adjustments will be made, you're going to have to see Saturday night on PPV," he said.

There aren't too many trainers in the world that can put together a game plan quite like Greg Jackson.  

So come Saturday night, if that game plan proves to be effective, he won't have to worry about coming up short in his first title bid, and he can forget about his first fight with Henderson.

All he'll have to do is figure out where he's going to display his brand-new WEC Lightweight Championship.

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