UFC: Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, "I'm in This To Be the Best"

While Donald Cerrone, a three-time championship contender in the WEC, is proud of what he’s been able to accomplish in mixed martial arts so far, now in the UFC, the man they call “Cowboy” is confident in his abilities moving forward.

After picking up kickboxing in high school and subsequently compiling an undefeated professional record in the sport, Cerrone, in pursuit of bigger paydays and good times, turned to mixed martial arts in 2006.

“I was kickboxing at the time and a promoter offered me some money to take an MMA fight. I thought it would be fun, so I did it,” offered Cerrone in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report, “I didn’t really have intentions of fighting in MMA; it just kind of fell into place. Once I started fighting, though, I loved it and I walked away from kickboxing right away.”

After putting together a perfect record as a professional mixed martial artist through the first seven matches of his career, Cerrone, thanks in part to a phone call made by the late Charles “Mask” Lewis and an appearance on the TapouT reality television program, was invited to compete at WEC 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada in September of 2007.

“[Charles “Mask” Lewis] called Reed Harris and told them he had this kid. That kid was me and they gave me a chance. I owe a lot to Mask and the TapouT crew. When I got picked up by the TapouT crew and was featured on their reality show, that really jumpstarted my career.”

During his time in the WEC, Cerrone quickly established himself as one of the organization’s brightest stars.

The winner of his first three bouts in the promotion—despite having his first match overturned to a no-contest after testing positive for banned substances—Cerrone was given a title-shot in less than a year-and-a-half with the WEC.

Despite dropping a split decision to Jamie Varner in his first WEC championship bout in January of 2009, over the course of the next year-and-a-half, Cerrone, a veteran of 10 contests in the WEC, was twice involved in lightweight championship matches with the organization.

“My time with the WEC was great for me; it was great to be able to get big-show experience, headline fight-cards, and fight for world titles. I’m pleased with the exposure I received, but I’m in this to be the best.”

After the WEC was absorbed by the UFC in early 2011, Cerrone, unfazed by the depth of the UFC’s lightweight division, knew that he would now have that opportunity to prove to everyone that he is “the best.”  

“Hell, yeah—bring that shit on,” said Cerrone, recalling his first thoughts when he learnt that the UFC had absorbed the WEC, “Time for these UFC-guys to eat their words. They talked a lot of smack about us WEC-guys not being on their level.”

So far, following victories over Paul Kelly and Vagner Rocha at UFC 126 and 131, respectively, Cerrone has more than proven that he belongs in the Octagon. Nevertheless, Cerrone claims that this is only the beginning.

“For sure, I’m right where I belong and I’m going to prove that every time that I fight ... Fighting in the UFC means that I’m at the top of the sport and it means that I’m able to pursue my goal of being a champion in the UFC. Starting off 2-0 is great, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”

While “Cowboy” is the first to admit that he’s most likely not next in line for a shot at Frankie Edgar’s lightweight championship belt, he is nevertheless confident in the process.

“I’m a few fights away from a title-shot in the UFC. I need to just stay the path and keep grinding. The division is so deep; look at how long it’s taking Jim Miller to get a shot, but I’m young, though, so I’ll be kicking ass for a while.”

For mixed martial arts fans on Twitter, don't forget to follow Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone at http://twitter.com/#!/Cowboycerrone and Ed Kapp at http://twitter.com/#!/EdKapp