Dana White Rules Out UFC Legend's Return - ‘Nothing Left to Prove'

"Love him, hate that," UFC CEO Dana White responds to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone planning two more fights.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Dana White isn't so much a fan of Donald Cerrone wanting to fight again...

As you may already know, most MMA retirements don't last too long, even nowadays with retired UFC Champions Amanda Nunes and Glover Teixeira hinting at coming out of the woodwork for another fight.

For "Cowboy" Cerrone, the 38-fight UFC veteran is gunning for two fights in an effort to break some more company records, years after he hung up the gloves at UFC 276 in 2022.

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Donald Cerrone Announces UFC Comeback: 'I'm Chasing Greatness'

White Responds To Cowboy: "It's Time To Not Go To War Anymore..."

Despite Cerrone's dreams of further etching his name in the history books, UFC CEO White isn't clamoring for a UFC return for the retired fighter - seeing as though Cerrone left the sport on a 7-fight winless skid, one of the worst in promotional history, which all started with a doctor's stoppage TKO-loss to Tony Ferguson in 2019.

"I hate it," White said of Cerrone's plan to come out of retirement at the Contender Series post-fight press conference. "Love him, hate that. He retired. For what? What's left to prove? If you want to make money, let's figure something else out."

"Guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it's over. I think that, not just this sport, but any professional sport, is hard to walk away from. Not just the money, that's obviously a very hard part of it, but, the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage, and the place is packed, and everybody... Every time we're at a show. When you show 'Cowboy' Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts. I mean, he's beloved. He's beloved because the guy goes to war, and he's been in wars for years, and it's time to not go to war anymore, man. There's nothing left to prove for him."

UFC's Donald Cerrone. / USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Running A Different Route For Cerrone

Not wanting "Cowboy" to mount a UFC comeback at 41 years old, White says he'll see what else he can do for the fan-favorite if it's about the money.

"I'd rather work something else out with him, figure out another way if it's about money and he can do something else, because he ain't going to fight for the rest of his life, and he's always going to need to make money. So, let's figure that out now instead of three years from now," White said.

In his two years away from MMA, Donald Cerrone has admitted to using performance enhancing substances, received a hair transplant, and also starred in several movies as an actor. We'll see what awaits the UFC Hal of Famer in his next chapter in life after a career spent fighting the likes of Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, and many more stars inside the Octagon.

UFC's Donald Cerrone. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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