“It’s hard to stop crazy, for sure, so that’s where he catches a lot of people off guard,” Cerrone said. “Like, ‘What was that?’ He gets hit, and he just keeps coming, so dealing with that durability, I’m just going to have to turn the lights off. That’s the only way to do it. I’m looking for a head kick drop, probably won’t shut him out, and then go and submit him.”
Cerrone predicted the finish to come “probably in the second round,” and while the fight game is notoriously unpredictable, the names slotted in the co-main event are all the evidence you need to assume a Performance or Fight of the Night bonus is likely to come out of this fight.
Speaking of predictors, Cerrone welcomed a second child, Riot River Cerrone, to the world just barely a week ago, which could spell some trouble for Price. When Cerrone fought after Dacson’s birth, he ripped off that three-fight winning streak that had people wondering if this was the motivation Cerrone needed to finally capture the title. That didn’t come to fruition, and Cerrone hasn’t had that same dialogue come along with this birth, but he has enjoyed watching Dacson discover his new life as an older brother.
“(Dacson) just wants to hold him and kiss him and take him (everywhere),” Cerrone said. “He’s so funny because he’s like, ‘Come on, Riot. Come on.’ Well, he can’t walk yet, bubba. It’s just funny how he’s like, ‘Come on, Riot. I’ll get us some chocolate milk,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, he can’t really drink that either.’ He doesn’t quite get it, but kids are cool. I plan on having a couple more.”
An affable Cerrone isn’t a rare sight during fight week, but the conversation keeps circling back to this fight being “for Cowboy” or “for himself.” He seems at peace with that reality.
That begs the question: In his long career, when was the last time he felt like this?
“God, it’s been years,” he said. “Years.”
