When Donald Cerrone enters the Octagon to fight Benson Henderson as an injury replacement at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on Jan. 18, there will be more on the line than just a win or loss on his record.
In fact, Cerrone’s decision to fill in for Eddie Alvarez just 15 days after handing Myles Jury his first loss at UFC 182 puts everything on the line – good and bad – in his quest for a shot at the lightweight championship.
"I guess I could sit back like every other fighter and sit and wait. But I'm not every other fighter," Cerrone said in a conference call on Tuesday.
"I'm my own guy … Like I said, if I'm going to be the champ, I've got to beat everyone anyways, so what is sitting and waiting and holding my position do?”
He’s not wrong, but his six-fight win streak meant he likely wouldn’t have to fight everybody on his way to a title shot – especially not Henderson – and some may say waiting and holding a strong position isn’t the worst decision in the world when you’re the No. 3-ranked fighter in a stacked division.
The quality of the 155-pound division is already one of Cerrone’s biggest obstacles and a loss to Henderson – a man who has beaten “Cowboy” twice before – could cost him his spot in line.
Right now he sits behind No. 1 contender Rafael Dos Anjos, who is scheduled to fight Anthony Pettis for the lightweight title at UFC 185 on March 14, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is an astounding 22-0 and eying a February return from a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Coming up right behind Cerrone in the rankings are former title contender Gilbert Melendez (4), former champion Henderson (5) and knockout specialist Edson Barboza (6), which is just scratching the surface of a division loaded with top-tier talent.
The best case scenario for a fighter who admits he “wouldn’t take this fight on short notice, one, if I wasn’t s--- bat loony, and two, if I didn’t think I could beat Ben,” would be to wait and train properly for a title eliminator bout against Nurmagomedov when he is healthy.
The worst case scenario is he loses and the train is derailed – at least temporarily. Now, that doesn’t mean he falls 10 spots down in the rankings and becomes an afterthought in the championship discussion, but it does vault Henderson back into serious contention and takes the attention away from Cerrone’s hot streak.
And Cerrone said it himself, his opponent is “one of the best out there.”
"It's not like I'm taking a filler fight against some bottom-25 guy. This is one of the top guys, and I know that full-well going into it. I'm super excited,” he said. “If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.”
And that’s what is really at stake. If Cerrone does beat Henderson, he should be next in line for a shot at Pettis and the lightweight crown.
After that, it’s all smooth sailing for the “Cowboy” – sort of.
“The only problem is if I goddamn get that belt, who's going to be left to fight?” Cerrone said. “That's what I want to know."