When Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone announced plans to fight again, the reaction was mixed.
While there’s no question that Cerrone was one of the more popular and well-liked fighters during the prime of his career, it felt like those days were far behind him after going 0-6 with one no contest in his final seven fights. After retiring, Cerrone also openly confessed to taking steroids and at one point said “I feel like I’m f*cking 20 again” thanks to the substances he was finally allowed to take once he wasn’t beholden to the UFC’s anti-doping policy.
Jim Miller, who was Cerrone’s final opponent prior to announcing his comeback, would never admonish anybody for deciding to fight again but he admits he doesn’t love the circumstances surrounding this particular situation.
“I have a tough time telling other grown men what to do,” Miller told MMA Fighting. “I don’t really believe in it. But the fact that he was very, very open with his use of performance enhancers and the way the majority of his last fights went. He got knocked out quite a few times and that’s not healing from going on a little [testosterone replacement therapy] or whatever. I’m not super into it, to be 100 percent honest.”
During those final seven fights in his career, Cerrone suffered four knockouts and one submission loss before calling it a career. He’s now plotting a return to action with his 42nd birthday approaching in March and he’ll be three years removed from his last appearance in the UFC if he fights in 2025.
The time off is one factor. The damage absorbed from a long career in fighting is another. But the one part about Cerrone’s comeback plan that just doesn’t sit well with Miller is the use of banned substances after retirement.
While Cerrone has to undergo six months of testing before he would be allowed to fight, Miller just isn’t a fan of gaming the system to use banned substances for three years before getting cleared to compete again.
He has nothing to prove, stay retired imo