Cerrone eyes UFC record
A win at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in June will project welterweight fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone to a record-breaking 21 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) victories.
But the American, who holds the joint-record with Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre, is not caught up over getting records. His main focus is on beating Leon "Rocky" Edwards at the UFC Fight Night Singapore: Cowboy v Edwards.
Donning his iconic cowboy hat, the 35-year-old was radiant at the pre-fight press conference at the Mandarin Oriental yesterday.
Promising to keep the fight short, Cerrone said: "Just wanting to fight is my motivation. It's cool, it will come in time, it's just going out there for the win, that's what I'm here for."
Although it may be Edwards' first time headlining a bout, the British fighter, who is riding on a run of five successive wins, was brimming with confidence.
Taking a jibe at Cerrone, Leon said: "I'm coming here to put this guy away. I'm young, I'm hungry, I feel like he's given all he has to this sport."
But Cerrone refuted the comments, insisting that he is well-endowed with the experience that Edwards lacks.
Disregarding his opponent's comments, Cerrone said: "I'm in my prime, baby. I'm not going anywhere.
"He talks as if I'm old but I've got more wins than he's got fights. He doesn't have anything that I haven't seen before, so I'll be ready to do what I do."
While Cerrone may be on the brink of making history, his path hasn't been the smoothest.
He had been on a three-loss run, which ended after winning his last match against Yancy Medeiros in February.
Cerrone admitted that his barren spell was hard, saying: "Losing three in a row is tough, I've never lost three before.
"This sport is the hardest sport to be excellent at, there's so many up-comers, so many variables."
But he showed no sign of that yesterday and is back on his feet, ready to add yet another win to his career.
This bout is UFC's third in Singapore, but the first for both fighters.
Despite this, Cerrone backed the UFC to venture beyond the United States and expand the promotion's reach in other countries.
He is no stranger to Asia, having fought in Japan during his kick-boxing days.
He said: "Most people are so America-driven in their minds, it's all they really know.
"The Asian market is so big and so powerful it'll be foolish for them not to tap into the Russian market either."
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