If you’re reading this you’re probably a bit teed off that we’re teeing off on your favorite Budweiser drinking, moose buckle having, rootin-tootin “cowboy.” But that idea would be a mistake. We love the undefeated kickboxer and Muy Thai champion just as much as anyone else. He’s got the spirit that most of wish we had – throwing caution to the wind and living life on his own terms. That part can stay. The part that needs to change is the part that causes him out of the Octagon woes and not showing up for big fights. This Saturday’s lost being a prime example. #Andstill reigning and defending champion Rafael Dos Anjos stormed through Donald Cerrone by stoppage in 66 seconds of the lightweight bout – main eventing the UFC on FOX card in Orlando. With all the hype and fan appreciation Cerrone had going into this fight, in my opinion, this loss in unacceptable, and it should be to him too. This is what he had to say in the post fight interview.
“I didn’t show up to work,” Cerrone said. “Couldn’t find my gear. He showed up and I didn’t. He did a good job.”
It’s no so much that he lossed, that can happen to anyone on any night, it’s how he lossed and his statements afterwards. It’s the repeated statements of how he lets the pressure get to him, and the repeated slow starts – which have been the bane of his existence. He needs to show up from the bell or else be doomed to suffer the purgatory fate of a Chad Mendes or Joseph Benavidez. The man needs a mental coach – he needs someone to help control his pre-fight jitters and organize his life in a way that he’s primed for fight night. 
Physically, Donald Cerrone is a tough as nails Muy Thai fighter with the balls and ability to strike with anyone. Mentally however he’s got holes, and it seems that the issue repeats itself. In a recent interview on the “Joe Rogan Experience” Cerrone talks about the pressures of the big fight as well as his out of the octagon run-ins with locals. When Joe Rogan offers the option of a mental coach Cerrone replies that Budweiser is his mental coach. It’s cute, and people love to hear that stuff, but if he wants to seriously rumble with the beasts of the lightweight division I think he’s going to need a more methodical approach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqM4E6LxMCM We get it. It’s a double edged sword. If you make him show up on time and wear a tie and a 3 piece suit he’ll lose the dynamo that is “Cowboy.” Dually noted. What we’re sayings is that there’s a way to keep that dynamo, dare I say make it even shiner, and honing as a controlled craziness in order to win the belt. 80% crazy cowboy, %20 mental coaching, and organization. While I’m surprised that Jackson-Winkeljohn would let this go on for so long, ultimately the buck stops with him. He describes himself as the type of guy that if you tell him not to eat one pizza he’ll eat two. While that defiant nature has got him here, it’s becoming a gift and a curse. “Cowboy” we love you man, but if you want the strap, you’re going to have to come back as the grown up refocused cowboy. It’s the only way. Until then, keep kicking ass and taking names!
