Cerrone seeks No. 1 contender bout vs. Lawler, Maia

As usual, Donald Cerrone is looking for a fight. And it wouldn't hurt if there was something extra on the line the next time around.

Should "Cowboy" have his hand raised against Jorge Masvidal at UFC on FOX 23 on Jan. 28, he plans to stay ready to compete again soon and has his sights set on the very top of the welterweight division.

"I just care about keep on fighting," Cerrone told Damon Martin of FOX Sports. "I know they've got the (Tyron) Woodley-(Stephen) Thompson fight coming in March (at UFC 209). I wouldn't mind getting a No. 1 contender fight in March also maybe on the same card and then fight the winner of those two."

Cerrone went on to say that he'd be interested in fighting fellow contender Demian Maia or former champion Robbie Lawler. He and Lawler were scheduled to fight at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden last November, but Lawler withdrew from the bout explaining that he needed time to recover from lingering injuries.

A bout with Maia or Lawler would go a long way towards clearing up the top of the 170-pound division, a logjam that Cerrone believes the fighters themselves have created.

"(Nick) Diaz turned Robbie down. (Expletive) Maia turned Robbie down. You know who didn't turn (expletive) Robbie down? Me," Cerrone said. "I said (expletive) yeah, bring that (expletive) on. That name don't scare me none. I love Robbie but (expletive) come on."

Cerrone is currently No. 5 in the UFC's official rankings with a 4-0 record at welterweight. He has rarely campaigned for title shots, but he did challenge Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight championship in December 2015. Dos Anjos defeated Cerrone by first-round TKO.