Donald Cerrone is ready for Ratcliff and then to see what happens.
The lightweight bout between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (10-2-0, 1 NC) and Ed “9mm” Ratcliff (7-1-0) will headline the WEC 45 event. Cerrone is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Ben Henderson at WEC 44 in October but his battle with Henderson garnered attention as a fight of the year candidate.
Cerrone is always exciting to watch and his fight against Ed Ratcliff should be no exception. At 26 years old Cerrone is still young and only getting better training in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the likes of Leonard Garcia who he also rooms with.
Cerrone is a well rounded MMA fighter but prefers to trade standing which is ironic considering 9 of his 10 wins come via submission. If Ratcliff is game to stand and bang then this should be a blockbuster bout.
When it comes to a game plan Cerrone has a simple one. “I want to fight my fight open up early and it will all fall into place from there,” he said confidently.
But Ratcliff has said he has a plan for dealing with The Cowboy, not that it matters to Cerrone. “Yeah he says he’s got a plan but I hope he doesn’t hit and run so I can plant my heels and we can throw down.”
Cerrone would love a shot a WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner (16-2-2) and an exciting win over Ratcliff could give Cerrone his long awaited rematch with the champ.
Cerrone lost via split decision to Varner in January of 2009 and has waited patiently for the champ to be back at 100 percent. “We were on for a rematch but he got injured and keeps having to back out. I just keep fighting and training so I don’t sit on the shelf.”
Walking around at 149 lbs while training Cerrone has even dabbled with the idea of cutting down to 145 lbs. “I am looking to drop down to 145 see what fights are there for me maybe get a shot a Jose Aldo. I just don’t want to sit on the shelf and I could cut the weight no problem.”
Cerrone’s confidence is impressive and backed up by a toughness that has kept him from being knocked out in 13 professional bouts. He always leaves it all in the cage and is one of the most exciting fighters in the light weight division.
Will Cerrone come out the victor? Or will Ratcliff execute a game plan to stop him?
The only way to find out is to tune in to tune to Versus at 10pm and watch WEC 45 – Cerrone vs Ratcliff.
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