UFC Legend Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone Admits to Using Steroids in Retirement

Getty Donald Cerrone

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone recently admitted that he was using steroids now that he was retired from mixed martial arts.

Cowboy hung up his hat in July at UFC 276 after being bested by Jim Miller, ending his 15-year-long professional career. Since then, fight fans have taken notice of Cerrone’s new jacked physique, and during Brendan Schaub’s Calabassas Fight Companion a few weeks back, the beloved combatant said he was on performance-enhancing drugs, which made him feel “20 again.”

“Dude, I was saying, Cowboy can you imagine being in this physical shape and fighting in the Octagon?” Schaub asked.

“I was just literally yesterday in [Las] Vegas and I was telling everybody like, I understand why steroids are illegal,” Cowboy answered. “Now that I’m injecting them into my body and I feel like I’m f****** 20 again. Man, the training would never stop. You could just literally train as hard as you wanted to, wake up the next day recovered and fresh.”

“And you trained like a crazed man as it is,” Schaub said. “Imagine at this level, then your punches, your kicks, your cardio, recovery.”

“Recovery would be the biggest (improvement),” Cerrone said. “It’s the fountain of youth.”

Cerrone is now focused on his acting career. He took part in several projects that were released in 2022, including starring in “Terror on the Praire” alongside women’s MMA legend Gina Carano, as well as “Project Legion.”

Cerrone Retired From MMA After Competing in More Than 50 Professional Bouts

Cowboy is the textbook definition of a mixed martial arts veteran. He walked away from the sport at 39 years old and with a professional record of 36-17 and two no-contests. He battled the who’s who of multiple generations, which includes several former — or now current — UFC champions, like Leon Edwards, Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Robbie Lawler and Benson Henderson.

He competed once for the UFC 155-pound belt, which he lost to then-champion Rafael dos Anjos in 2015. All in all, Cowboy fought 38 times in the UFC, making him the fighter with the third most Octagon appearances ever. Further, his 23 UFC victories are the second most in history — tied with former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski — and he holds the record alongside ex-UFC lightweight king Charles Oliveira for most performance bonuses (18).

Cerrone has also landed the most knockdowns as a UFC athlete with 20.

Cerrone Retired at UFC 276 in July

Cowboy announced that he was retiring from mixed martial arts at UFC 276 in front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the promotion’s International Fight Week. Prior to the announcement, Cowboy battled Miller in a rematch.

However, Cowboy didn’t earn a second victory over his fellow UFC veteran. Instead, Miller caught Cerrone with a second-round guillotine choke, forcing the tap.

Unfortunately for Cerrone, he wasn’t able to end his losing streak before retiring. Cowboy is winless in his last seven fights, which include six defeats and one no-contest. His final win came in 2019 when he defeated Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision.