In His Blood

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Donald Cerrone was at the racetrack recently, watching some of the finest thoroughbreds in New Mexico do their work. He marveled at the speed and athleticism of the animals but was especially interested in how they seemed hell-bent on a singular goal: crossing the finish line. That day, Cerrone made it a point to ask one of the trainers what she did to motivate the horses.

“They’re just born like this,” she told him. “It’s in their blood.”

Cerrone can relate.

“[When] you’re a fighter, it’s in your soul; you’re born with it,” he says. “I do believe there are people that are actually born better at something than other people. Some people don’t have it when they get hit; they just curl up. Some people just [expletive] knuckle down and go.”

“Cowboy” is clearly one of the latter, and 2011 has unequivocally been the best year of his professional life. At UFC 126, Cerrone made his Octagon debut in the midst of personal tragedy. Though the fight occurred on the same day his grandfather died, the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product choked out Paul Kelly in the second round and has not looked back since, posting a 4-0 mark within the UFC while racking up racking up “Fight of the Night,” “Submission of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” honors in the process. On Friday, he goes for five in a row against Nate Diaz in the UFC 141 co-main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Were it not for the overwhelming excellence of teammate Jon Jones, Cerrone could easily be “Fighter of the Year” for 2011. The Colorado native was a star long before he ever set foot inside the Octagon, however. Outside of Urijah Faber, he was probably the biggest draw in the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting organization, and that was without ever capturing championship gold. It was not for a lack of opportunity. Three times Cerrone had title fights, and three times he came up short, once to Jamie Varner and twice against Ben Henderson. The difference between now and then, Cerrone says, is mostly mental.

“When I used to kickbox, I used to go out there and just throw the [expletive] down, just go hard,” he says. “I went to the WEC, and I was, like, ‘Oh, man, I’m in the WEC.’ I kind of let my emotions take over. The Jamie Varner fight and the Ben Henderson [fights], my losses that I have, just really got me in a hole.”

To help with Cerrone’s mental preparation, Georges St. Pierre referred him to Brian Cain, the same sports psychologist that helped the UFC welterweight champion following his upset loss to Matt Serra in 2007.

“He asked me, ‘Why do I belong in the UFC,’ and I said, ‘Because I’m the best. That’s why,’” Cerrone recalls. “He was asking me all these questions ... and getting me to believe in myself, to believe the hype.”

Cerrone says he no longer works with Cain, but the visits made enough of an impression that he attempts to replicate them in Albuquerque with Marc Stevens, a Ball State University graduate who is continuing his education in sports psychology.

“He was pretty sporadic [early] in his career, where you have a really good fight, and then, in his next fight, he’d have trouble getting started,” says Stevens. “Just getting him to push the pace without the support of the other [fighter] is definitely the biggest thing -- and being consistent at it. It’s about getting him in the zone every single time. You can peak physically -- all these guys are in great physical shape -- but showing up mentally for a fight, making sure you’re 100 percent there, that’s the toughest part.”

There is something of a stigma attached to when an athlete seeks out such help, as B.J. Penn proved when he mocked St. Pierre for his treatment before their bout at UFC 94. Of course, Penn did not make it off his stool for the fifth round of that fight, and it is hard to argue with the results Cerrone has produced.

“Just getting my mind right, getting everything fired up, getting everything running together makes it the best year for me -- physically, mentally and being in the UFC and making it happen,” Cerrone says.

Inside the cage, trainer Greg Jackson had a similar emphasis, working hard on getting his charge to begin with a flourish. When the longtime Ring of Fire veteran faltered in the past, it was often because of slow starts on fight night. In losses to Varner at WEC 38 and Henderson at WEC 43, Cerrone began tentatively, digging himself a hole on judges’ scorecards that a strong push in later rounds could not overcome. In the rematch with Henderson, Cerrone was not allowed the opportunity to mount a comeback, as the current UFC lightweight No. 1 contender caught him in his patented guillotine choke in the opening frame.

Jackson wanted to see his fighter bring a sense of urgency from the get-go. While Cerrone was already performing at a high level, it was not as consistent as what he showed in the gym on a daily basis.

“He was trying to figure out what I do here [at Jackson’s MMA] to bring it alive in the cage,” Cerrone says. “You see those guys that are great gym warriors. They go hard, but they get in there and freeze up. It’s a hard thing to do -- to go out there and perform.”

Anything remotely resembling the tentative side of Cerrone was last seen at UFC 131, when he scored a one-sided unanimous decision over Vagner Rocha. It was the only time this year that he has not brought home a post-fight award. Just moments after the match, Cerrone acknowledged that it was not a vintage performance.

In his next two appearances, Cerrone has, as he puts it, “come alive” in the Octagon. He garnered the first technical knockout of his MMA career when he finished Charles Oliveira with strikes in the opening round at UFC Live 5. Then, in his most significant victory to date, Cerrone smashed the surging Dennis Siver with a head kick and wobbled the Russian-born German less than a minute into their fight at UFC 137. Never given a chance to recover, Siver submitted to a rear-naked choke before the round expired.

“I think in his experience he has learned that he will not gas out in his fights,” says striking coach Mike Winkeljohn. “He’s in great enough shape that he can start fast and work that pace the whole fight. He believes in his conditioning now more than ever before.”

By awakening his killer instinct sooner, Cerrone is getting closer to harnessing his considerable potential.

“He’s just a lot more focused. He listens better, but also, right before fight time, he gets real motivated to go out and do what he does,” Jackson says. “I think that’s the big thing. He’s not holding back.”

Finish Reading » “If I’m gonna say I’ll fight anyone at any time, I’ve got to be a man of my word. That’s one thing I’ve been raised to do is be a man of my word.”