Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC On FOX 23 event in Denver, Colorado, fast-rising Welterweight contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone took some time to sit down with UFC broadcast member Megan Olivi to discuss his co-main event fight against Jorge Masvidal.
During the discussion, which was released via the official UFC YouTube channel (see video above), Cerrone made it clear that he intends to make history this Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, and he certainly is in a position to do exactly that on a number of levels in one fight. Currently, Cerrone is primed to potentially break a number of records depending on the outcome this Saturday night, in the familiar place he has long called home in Denver, Colorado.
With a win over Masvidal this weekend, “Cowboy,” who noted he personally bought 58 tickets so his family and friends in the local area will be there to watch as he potentially adds a number of new achievements to his already lengthy list of impressive career MMA accomplishments.
Among the notable records Cerrone is either set to break, tie or move incredibly closer to in one fight this weekend is the all-time UFC wins record. Currently, reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping holds the distinction with 20 victories inside the world-famous Octagon, the most by any fighter in the history of the promotion. Heading into Saturday night’s show on “big FOX,” Cerrone is tied for the second most wins in UFC history with 18, an accomplishment that currently retired former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre achieved during his active career as well.
If you were to include all fights that were held in the UFC and the three major promotions they acquired during their expansion — PRIDE, Strikeforce and WEC, Cerrone is set to move to the number two all-time spot, matching the mark set by retired former two-division PRIDE Champion Dan Henderson at 25. Number one in all-time combined wins that took place in the aforementioned four top organizations is MMA legend and former longtime PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva, who racked up 27 wins.
In addition to those particular few records or near-records, Cerrone is also set to move closer to additional records, and will also increase the lead he already has in multiple categories that he is currently listed as the all-time leader, such as his 17 stoppage victories in combined UFC/WEC fight history. The same number has him tied for the number three spot in combined UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce fight history, trailing only Filipovic (21) and Silva (20). He also holds the distinction of being the man with the most headkick knockout victories in Octagon history, as he holds the all-time UFC record with six impressive wins coming by way of a KO due to a head kick. He is also currently seated as the number one all-time leader in combined UFC/WEC post-fight performance bonuses with 18. The same category when factoring in strictly his fights in the UFC, “Cowboy” is currently tied for third all-time alongside Anderson Silva, both of whom have 13 post-fight performance bonuses in the UFC, trailing Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz, who are currently tied at number one with 15 post-fight performance bonuses in the UFC.
UFC On FOX 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena takes place live this Saturday night, January 28th, from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The main card is set to air on FOX, the first “big FOX” card promoted by the UFC in 2017, while the preliminary bouts, as is always the case with pay-per-views and FOX cards, will be split between FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and UFC Fight Pass.
