Donald Cerrone: 'I'm my own guy, I don't give a s**t'

Is Donald Cerrone crazy? I certainly don't think so, but there are some that are of that opinion. After all, you don't see many UFC fighters fight twice in 15 days in this era. But Cowboy is a different breed, and he readily accepted a third bout with Ben Henderson next weekend at UFC Fight Night: Boston even though he just got out of the cage with a win over Myles Jury at UFC 182. In a pre-fight conference call, Cerrone offered up his own humorous explanations of why he is the way he is (transcription via MMA Fighting):

"Prepare? S**t, I don't even have enough time to prepare a cake. What are you talking about, prepare? I'm just going in there fighting. I've got enough time to cut weight and get to Boston. So there will be no gameplan. Just fight. That's all there is to do. Short, sweet, and get it over with."

He explained how he ended up getting the fight:

"I went and got steak and eggs for breakfast from the executive chefs, talked to Lorenzo (Fertitta) a little bit, and really, it was going to be ‘we'll let you know in a couple days' kind of answer," Cerrone said. "So no, I had no idea Alvarez was injured or Henderson was even an option. I was about midway home driving the RV when Dana (White) called me like, ‘hey man, I don't really want you to take this fight... but I've got an opportunity for you.

"Dana was like, ‘I think you should take some time off... but I'm not telling you to take time off.' He was talking to [me] as a friend, so I'm like, alright, well, I'll take the fight."

Is cutting weight twice in a few weeks bad for him? It might be, but once again Cowboy didn't seem to really care:

"I don't have an answer for you on that one," Cerrone replied, chuckling again. "[That's] probably damaging, for sure. But so is cocaine and alcohol, so I think this is a little less.

"I guess I could sit back like every other fighter and sit and wait. But I'm not every other fighter," Cerrone added. "I'm my own guy, and I don't give a s**t. Bring these fights on, you know? Like I said, if I'm going to be the champ, I've got to beat everyone anyways, so what is sitting and waiting and holding my position do?

"It's not like I just say that, and when it comes to me, I tell my friends, 'oh man, I've got to take this fight because everyone expects me to.' No. When they offered it to me, it was like, yeah, absolutely, let's go. There's no name that comes across the table that I'm like, ‘oh damn, I'm can't take that.' No, let's go. Let's fight. It's what we do. It's what I'm paid to do. It's my job."

Cerrone, who will indeed drive his RV all the way to Boston for the bout, isn't underestimating his opponent Henderson, a man that has bested him twice:

"Dude held the title. He's one of the best out there, man. That's for goddamn sure," Cerrone said. "It's not like I'm taking a filler fight against some bottom-25 guy. This is one of the top guys, and I know that full-well going into it. I'm super excited. If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. The only problem is if I goddamn get that belt, who's going to be left to fight? That's what I want to know."

The two men will battle in the co-main event on UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on January 18th.