UFC
Donald Cerrone explains why he stayed on UFC 187 card after Khabib Nurmagomedov's injury
May 18, 2015 - 4:30:35 PM Donald Cerrone explains why he stayed on UFC 187 card after Khabib Nurmagomedov's injury

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Dana called me up and told me that Khabib was out, and I told him, 'ok, so who is going to replace him?' ... It pissed off my coaches and manager. Once he got injured, if I would have waited, I would have gotten a title shot. But I don't want to do that. It isn't my style... Let's just talk about the money, part. I've already spent $20,000 on this camp, so far. I put a lot of money into building this gym at my ranch and I've brought in coaches and training partners to live with me. I think I've had about 18 guys here on the ranch with me. We've done almost an entire training camp, I've had these guys living with me, they've put in a lot. What am I going to tell them, 'ok guys, that's it, see you next time'? I wasn't going to do it. I just look at it like my job. You're doing this interview because it's your job, right? I signed a contract to fight at UFC 187, so I'm going to fight at UFC 187, whoever it is against. It's the same thing."

-Donald Cerrone talks to FoxSports.com about why he didn't consider waiting out a title fight after Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from UFC 187.

Penick's Analysis: Given the money Cerrone was putting into his camp there, I can imagine most fighters in his situation would rather take the payday than go in the hole even further waiting for the next fight. On that front it's a sensible decision. Yes he's risking a loss against a style of fighter he wasn't preparing for, which would take the title fight off the table, but I don't think anyone expected him to drop out. Some others may have, but Cerrone's reputation and past history is such that he was always going to stay on the card if the UFC had anyone for him to fight. It's a risk, but he's still likely to win that fight, and the title fight will then be next for him.