Donald Cerrone Disputes That Fighting Conor McGregor Guarantees a Big Payday

Only a few short months ago, Donald Cerrone was rumored to be fighting former lightweight champion Conor McGregor in his next bout. After negotiations broke down, Cerrone agreed to a fight against Al Iaquinta this Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 151 in Ottawa.

Cerrone has said he is open to fighting McGregor in the future if offered the fight, but that his focus now is on Iaquinta and getting closer to a title shot.

The 36-year-old fan favorite fielded questions from reporters ahead of his fight against “Ragin Al” and disputed claims that fighting McGregor automatically guarantees you a big pay day (via MMAJunkie.com):

“I don’t know about this payday talk,” Cerrone said. “Everyone thinks you fight Conor, you get paid. We’re under contract, man. Now with the ESPN thing, the pay-per-view buys are already done. It’s not like we get -- so it’s a big misconception. Conor might get paid. ‘Cowboy’ might get a little bump, but it’s not a $10 million night for me by any means. I need to go get this belt. That’s where the real money is. Aside from the money, I love it -- fighting three, four times a year. I enjoy the training camp. I enjoy this. The whole process to me, I’m going to miss the [expletive] out of it when I’m done. Right now I’m in it, and I love it.”