The Inner Voice of the ‘Cowboy’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The edgier side of Donald Cerrone -- the inner voice that tells him to throw caution to wind -- is a big part of his identity. Without it, there would have been no three-round war with “Razor” Rob McCullough, no “Fight of the Year” with Benson Henderson, and there certainly would be no longstanding feud with former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner.

The bull riding, dirt biking, kickboxing, shoot-from-the-hip “Cowboy” always brings with him a palpable passion, both in and out of the cage. When that passion becomes misguided, Cerrone can sometimes become a detriment to himself. It happened when the Colorado native got riled up -- as he often does when speaking on the subject -- and called Varner a “fag” and expressed his desire to “kill this dude” in their rematch at WEC 51 on Thursday at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo.

Clearly, Cerrone’s head was not in the right place when he made the ill-conceived remarks about Varner, but the amount of contempt he carries for the Arizona Combat Sports product is no secret.

“He’s a good guy; he just gets a little overzealous,” says Greg Jackson, Cerrone’s trainer. “Maybe he should think before he speaks sometimes, and he’s not always the best at doing that. Just making sure that he stays focused, stays calm and has his head in the right place for the fight is going to be very important.”

The story is familiar to anyone who has followed their long-running rivalry. When the two squared off for Varner’s title in January 2009, there was little to no pre-fight animosity. After Cerrone landed an illegal knee to the side of Varner’s head in the beginning of the fifth round, the champion could continue, and the fight was scored from where it ended. Varner retained his WEC lightweight crown by split decision.

Some believe Varner quit that night, but his post-fight injury list was extensive and kept him out of action for nearly a year. To this day, however, Cerrone believes his foe took the easy road out.

“Absolutely, [he did],” Cerrone says. “The only one that can tell is him. He’s going to have to answer that question again come this fight. He’s gonna have to be in there with me again. This is round six, seven and eight, so we’ll see.”

The war of words the pair has waged over the past year and a half was mostly harmless until Cerrone’s aforementioned radio interview left the WEC doing damage control. The same lack of focus that caused his verbal slip has proven a problem that also occasionally plagues him in the cage.

His first bout against Henderson, the current lightweight champion, at WEC 43 was a hotly-contested decision that many felt Cerrone won thanks to quality work off his back.

The rematch that occurred at the company’s first pay-per-view effort in April was a stunning disappointment for the Cowboy, as Henderson dispatched him with a guillotine choke in less than two minutes.

“I don’t think he had the right frame of mind against Ben Henderson [the second time],” says stand-up coach Mike Winkeljohn. “It was just one of those nights.”

“Every dog has its day,” Cerrone says. “He caught me slipping, and he capitalized on the opportunity to choke me out. It was fast and tight and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Varner had his opportunity against Henderson at WEC 46 and was victimized by the same hold. Then, after a foul-marred affair resulted in a draw against Kamal Shalorus at WEC 49, Varner angled for another title shot, believing the judges’ scoring of his battle with Shalorus was incorrect.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Cerrone says. “He’s off a loss [to Henderson], then he begs for a win [against Shalorus], so I don’t see how he deserves a title shot.”

It remains unclear where a win puts either fighter in the WEC’s lightweight hierarchy. Their combined 0-3 record against Henderson seems a difficult selling point for matchmaker Sean Shelby. At this point, however, another crack at the belt does not rank high on Cerrone’s list of priorities.

“I’m not looking for another title shot,” he says. “That’s a lot of stress and a lot of things. Right now, I’m definitely looking for another win over Varner and consecutive wins in the organization. Whether I get a title shot or not, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to fight.”

Cerrone’s disdain for Varner has created some uncomfortable moments for those around him. Leonard Garcia, Cerrone’s best friend and teammate at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, refused to acknowledge Varner after his memorable bout against Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48.

“I respect him as a fighter; he was a champion,” Garcia says. “He did a lot of great things in the sport. I respect him in that sense, but Cowboy’s my brother and everybody knows blood is thicker than water. He tried to come up to me and shake my hand after the Chan Sung Jung fight ... and I just blew right past him. Nothing against him; he’s having a fight with my brother. I can’t do that.”

Another Jackson’s MMA fighter, UFC welterweight Carlos Condit, has made it a point to avoid the controversy surrounding the bout. Condit previously spent some time training with Varner and the Arizona Combat Sports team in 2009 before returning to his native New Mexico to train under Jackson. He declined to comment on the feud between past and present training partners and, by all accounts, has not given Cerrone any inside information.

“As far as Carlos helping me with anything, he doesn’t. I respect him on that,” Cerrone says. “There’s no secrets in this sport. No one has some secret move that no one else has seen. I know what [Varner] does; I can watch the tape and see what he does. It’s not like he’s gonna come surprise me.”

Cerrone will be fighting in his hometown, and it remains to be seen whether or not recent events have displaced Varner from his role as villain; not that it matters much to either man. Regardless of any WEC-mandated hatchet burying that might have occurred, the tension between the two has always been legitimate. Take it from the man who knows Cerrone best.

“A lot of people sometimes think it’s an act, or they wonder if it’s real,” Garcia says. “We get to see it; it’s real. These guys hate each other. I think Cowboy dislikes Jamie a little more, but it’s a good thing for the sport because it brings interest from people on the outside. In the long run, these two guys are going to settle their differences in the cage, so it’s a good thing.”