There's no denying Donald Cerrone is still bummed out about his loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 246 in January.
"My heart is still hurt, but that's what makes it a man's sport," he told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin on Tuesday. "We go in there and figure it out."
"Cowboy" is tied for the most fights in UFC history (34), but none were more significant than his clash against McGregor. It was his first pay-per-view main event, and he was facing the sport's biggest superstar.
But it all came quickly crashing down when McGregor finished him in 40 seconds.
"The only thing you can do is to suck it up and keep moving," Cerrone said. "I can't dwell on that. Can't sit and worry about all that. I had my moment. I let it go, but at the end of the day, I got in there and did it. I stood with one of the best and I'm proud. I'm proud of what I’ve become in the sport."
Cerrone is known for being willing to fight anyone, anywhere, and at any time, and he's now booked to face former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in a rematch at UFC 249 on May 9 in Jacksonville.
"... That’s the soonest I was ready to go," Cerrone said. "Other than that, I wasn’t really thinking about fighting. ... They called me about fighting in May, and I was like, 'Yeah, let's go.' Why not? It all worked out."
