Cerrone wants to punch Varner in the face...again.
Donald Cerrone makes no bones about it — he doesn’t like Jamie Varner.
It’s just something about Varner that Cerrone can’t stand. And it makes Cerrone want to punch Varner in the face.
“He bugs me,” said Cerrone, whose only career loss comes at the hands of Varner. “ I don’t like the dude. I hate his face.”
The two were supposed to fight in a rematch, but a series of injuries to Varner prevented it from happening. When Varner’s injuries proved to be more serious, the WEC decided to create an interim lightweight title, and let Cerrone fight Benson Henderson for it.
To Cerrone, a victory tonight would be nice, but all it is a stepping stone to getting his fight with Varner.
“Ben is the way,” Cerrone (10-1, 1 NC) said. “The motivation to get through Ben is to get to Varner helps me get fired up. … It’s what’s helping me a lot.”
But he isn’t looking past Henderson at all.
The two grew up in the same town — Colorado Springs, Colo. — and even fought on the same cards.
“It’s kind of cool to see each other at the WEC,” Cerrone said. “It’s cool to interact with him, and now fighting him. It’s an honor.”
The two were supposed to fight in September, but an injury to Henderson pushed the fight back to tonight.
“Things happen when you train,” Cerrone said. “I can’t blame the guy. If he’s hurt, he’s hurt. … It sucks the fight didn’t happen.”
The two respect each other, and talk highly of each other’s abilities and personalities.
It was clearly evident during the WEC media conference call hyping the fight.
The two traded friendly jabs about not wanting to punch each other in the face and how the fight will end up as a submission grappling contest.
With all jokes aside, both fighters have assured the fight will be exciting and that they won’t hesitate to punch each other.
If any proof is needed, look no further than their training partners.
“Me and Leonard Garcia are best friends, and we try to kill each other [in practice],” Cerrone said. “The shot that I hit on Varner is different from the one I’ll hit Ben with, but other than that, I don’t think there is any problem fighting [Ben.]”
Cerrone said that the interim title means nothing if he doesn’t get another crack at Varner.
“(Not beating Varner for the belt) will always be in the back of my mind,” Cerrone said. “I want to take the belt away from Varner. … Jamie is an awesome fighter. I have nothing bad to say about his fight game. But as a person, he’s a punk.”
