At UFC Brooklyn, Donald Cerrone closed the loud mouth of Alexander Hernandez in the feature prelim on ESPN with a head kick and a barrage of punches. Hernandez would speak once again Sunday afternoon but in a much more humble tone than he had leading up to the fight, by congratulating and thanking Donald Cerrone via Twitter for the learning experience. Speaking to reporters after the victory, Cerrone expressed why he took so much offense to Hernandez’s posturing prior to the fight, something that Cowboy believes to be an epidemic among many younger fighters:
“That’s what I want to talk about, this young kid,” Cerrone began in the post-fight scrum. “I don’t understand why they come in like…have some fuckin’ respect. I’m going to fight you the same: happy, shaking your hand. Like, Yancy Medeiros, what a great guy. That fight was so honorable, man. It was cool. He shook my hand. That was like true, professional sports, you know. It was cool. Like, I’m going to go in there and still try and beat your ass. Like, that makes you difference, you know?”
Many people attribute this wave of outspoken young fighters to an attempt to emulate Conor McGregor and his blueprint for success. Donald Cerrone, however, had another name in mind to blame for this rise of trash talk and disrespect:
“I wish these younger kids coming into the game, they wouldn’t model themselves after Colby and try and just…why? Why? Be something that people can follow you on Instagram and kids, little kids walk up to you and be you for Halloween. Like, yeah, Cowboy, you walk with your head high and you speak well. This is a sporting event. Let’s treat it as one.”
Do you agree with Donald Cerrone? Are there too many young fighters talking too much trash nowadays?
