After Gruesome Arm Injury, Cowboy Cerrone Won’t Be Taking on PBR’s Nastiest Bull

Retired UFC legend was to attempt Dana White’s Twisted Steel at World Finals in May

The old saw in bull riding is the chance of injury is not if but when…and how bad.

For Cowboy Cerrone, it was last week, and it was bad. 

The injury happened in a practice pen in Texas, and the thrashing steer took the UFC legend’s bicep clean off the bone. 

Cerrone had been preparing for his matchup with Dana White’s Twisted Steel scheduled for Saturday, May 18 at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, during the final championship weekend of the 2024 PBR World Finals.

It was one of those made-for-the-tabloids matchups capturing the interest of those who might not care much about a particular sport. 

Think Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs…with an ambulance nearby, keys in the ignition. 

And now it’s not to be. 

Following emergency surgery, Cerrone is unable to participate in the highly anticipated showdown that started with a challenge he issued in January when watching Twisted Steel buck at Madison Square Garden. 

“My arm was hurt pretty bad – a 100% bicep tear off the bone,” Cerrone said. “Guess you mess with the bull you sometimes get the horns. This is not the end. I will rehab and get back after it. I still want my shot at Twisted Steel.”

Cerrone plans to attend PBR World Finals as a fan and has been invited to hang at Cole Hauser’s rip roaring Ultimate Tailgate party outside AT&T Stadium on May 18.

Dana White, UFC President & CEO, had agreed to give Cerrone $50,000 for attempting to ride his surly six-year-old bull, and another $50,000 if he successfully stayed on 8 seconds for a qualified ride.

Asked about that, 9-time World Champion Ty Murray said he personally has about as much chance of knocking out Conor McGregor as Cerrone would have in making the 8 on Twisted Steel, whose record is 35-4 against the world’s best riders.

Fair enough. Call the haul $50,000 then, a sum Cerrone planned to donate to his summer camp for youth.

Cowboy may say he still wants a shot at the bull. White, who just engineered a deep, thrilling card at UFC 300 that managed to exceed pre-fight hype enormous even by his outsized standards, is not about to put a new date on the calendar for Cerrone to take on his rank bull. 

When Dana White backs away from a sure-fire ratings grabber, it’s cause for pause.

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“I thought this was a bad idea for Cowboy from the start,” White said. “Twisted Steel is the nastiest bull in the PBR. He’s bucked 90% of his riders. Let’s leave it to the pros at the PBR World Finals in Arlington.”

Following Cerrone’s audacious challenge issued inside Madison Square Garden, the retired MMA fighter began getting on practice bulls under the tutelage of old-school tough guys including Ross Coleman, head coach of the Missouri Thunder in the PBR Teams league and two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney, head coach of the Oklahoma Wildcatters who was profiled by Sally Jenkins on the front page of last Sunday’s Washington Post in a tour de force of American sports writing. 

“Cowboy had an uphill battle even against the bulls in the practice pen,” Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner, PBR. “But we have great respect for how seriously he took the challenge, and maybe we’ll get him on one when he heals up. It just won’t be Twisted Steel.” 

Bull riding is one of the world’s most dangerous sports. Cowboy Cerrone, known over a 38-bout 11-year UFC career to never turn down a fight, was forced out of this one, brutalized in the practice pen ahead of a showdown now to be considered an all-time “what if.”