Getty Welterweight fighter Donald Cerrone will take on Anthony Pettis in UFC's Prelims Saturday.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (36-14-1 MMA, 23-11 UFC) will try to end his three-fight losing streak when he challenges former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (22-10-0, 9-9 UFC) to a rematch in the UFC 249 Prelims at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida Saturday.
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The prelims start at 6 p.m. ET, with Pettis vs Cerrone going sixth (last) on that card. All of the prelim fights will be on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, you can also watch them live on ESPN+:
Or, if you also plan on watching Ferguson vs Gaethje and the UFC 249 main card, you can get a special bundle that includes a year of ESPN+ ($49.99 value) and the UFC 249 PPV ($64.99 value) for $84.98, which works out to about 26 percent savings:
Once signed up, you can then watch Pettis vs Cerrone and all the UFC 249 fights on your computer via ESPN.com, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
For all of those options, you’ll need to sign in with your ESPN+ account to watch.
Pettis vs Cerrone Preview
The last time we saw Cerrone was in January when he was laid out in 40 seconds by Conor McGregor. The last time Cerrone fought Pettis, it was 2013, and he was knocked down and defeated by Pettis via TKO after two minutes and a few strong kicks to his core. Thus, this could be a real ‘prove it’ fight for the Cowboy.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both fighters have had approximately three weeks to prepare for the Prelims, which suits Cerrone just fine. In fact, he says this fight is right up his alley for a number of reasons.
“Short-notice fights are kind of my wheelhouse,” Cerrone said this week.”I enjoy this. I guess with all of the quarantines, we’re going to walk right in and fight – then, leave. It’s kind of right up my alley. I won’t have any time to get scared or get in my own head. I’ll just go out there and hopefully have some fun.” Fun wouldn’t be had if he loses four straight fights, though.
“Friendly-wise, I’m excited,” Cerrone said about the prelims bout. “I like Pettis. He’s a good dude. It should be a lot of fun. Stylistically-wise, it’s a great matchup. How badly do I need a win? (Expletive), I lost three. That sucks. Four would be (expletive) miserable.”
As for Pettis, he has lost his two most recent bouts, and he has gone 4-8 in his past 12 fights, leaving some to wonder where he has been since he lost the UFC lightweight title in 2015.
“I think I need to get my confidence back. That’s what I’m focusing on now,” Pettis said Thursday during the UFC 249 virtual media day. “This quarantine made me readjust and rethink. Even in practice I’m better than most of the guys I train with. It’s just putting it together in the octagon in the moments that matter. It’s just putting together the rounds.”
Pettis thinks his victory seven years ago could help him Saturday. “When you beat somebody, it’s always there in the back of their head,” he said. “No matter what, I don’t care how many fights you have past that, a loss is a loss. I feel I got the mental advantage already. I know his weaknesses; he knows my weaknesses. It’s going to be who can exploit it, who is in better shape and who wants it more.”