Donald Cerrone

“Cowboy”

MMA · Retired

36-17 (2 NC)RECORD

10KO / TKO WINS

17SUBMISSION WINS

9DECISION WINS

Profile

Full name	Donald Anthony Cerrone
Nickname	Cowboy
Date of birth	29 Mar 1983
Nationality	American
Birthplace	Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Lives in	Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Division	Lightweight / Welterweight
Team	BMF Ranch; formerly Jackson Wink MMA Academy
Height	183 cm (6′0″)
Reach	185 cm (73″)
Stance	Orthodox
Years active	2005–2022
Status	Retired
Pro debut	11 Feb 2006
Last fight	Loss vs Jim Miller, 2 Jul 2022

Details on this page were compiled from public information on 10 Oct 2026 (the record is as of that date). Is this you? Claim this profile to correct anything and add your photo and bio. Claim this profile

Titles and honours

UFC Hall of Fame (Modern wing, Class of 2023)
Ring of Fire Lightweight Champion
Dominion Warrior Muay Thai World Lightweight Champion
2006 S-1 Muay Thai U.S. Lightweight Tournament Champion
Challenger for WEC Lightweight title (2009, 2010) and UFC Lightweight title (2015)

Background

Donald Cerrone is an American mixed martial artist who began kickboxing and Muay Thai in his early twenties before moving to MMA. He became one of the UFC's most active and decorated fighters with a record number of bonuses.

Fight history

55 professional fights. Newest first.

Result	Opponent	Method	Round	Time	Event	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Jim Miller	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	1:32	UFC 276	2 Jul 2022	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss	Alex Morono	TKO (punches)	1	4:40	UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson	8 May 2021	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
No contest	Niko Price	No contest (overturned)	3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley	19 Sep 2020	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Originally a majority draw; overturned after Price tested positive for marijuana
Loss	Anthony Pettis	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 249	9 May 2020	Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Loss	Conor McGregor	TKO (head kick and punches)	1	0:40	UFC 246	18 Jan 2020	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Return to welterweight
Loss	Justin Gaethje	TKO (punches)	1	4:18	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje	14 Sep 2019	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Loss	Tony Ferguson	TKO (doctor stoppage)	2	5:00	UFC 238	8 Jun 2019	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Win	Al Iaquinta	Decision (unanimous)	5	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy	4 May 2019	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	Fight of the Night
Win	Alexander Hernandez	TKO (head kick and punches)	2	3:43	UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw	19 Jan 2019	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.	Return to lightweight; Performance and Fight of the Night
Win	Mike Perry	Submission (armbar)	1	4:46	UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez	10 Nov 2018	Denver, Colorado, U.S.	Performance of the Night
Loss	Leon Edwards	Decision (unanimous)	5	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards	23 Jun 2018	Kallang, Singapore
Win	Yancy Medeiros	TKO (punches)	1	4:58	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros	18 Feb 2018	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Loss	Darren Till	TKO (punches)	1	4:20	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till	21 Oct 2017	Gdańsk, Poland
Loss	Robbie Lawler	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 214	29 Jul 2017	Anaheim, California, U.S.
Loss	Jorge Masvidal	TKO (punches)	2	1:00	UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña	28 Jan 2017	Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Win	Matt Brown	KO (head kick)	3	0:44	UFC 206	10 Dec 2016	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	Rick Story	TKO (knee and punches)	2	2:02	UFC 202	20 Aug 2016	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Performance of the Night
Win	Patrick Côté	TKO (punches)	3	2:35	UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson	18 Jun 2016	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	Performance of the Night
Win	Alex Oliveira	Submission (triangle choke)	1	2:33	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy	21 Feb 2016	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Welterweight debut; Performance of the Night
Loss	Rafael dos Anjos	TKO (punches)	1	1:06	UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2	19 Dec 2015	Orlando, Florida, U.S.	For UFC Lightweight Championship
Win	John Makdessi	TKO (head kick)	2	4:44	UFC 187	23 May 2015	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	Benson Henderson	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver	18 Jan 2015	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Win	Myles Jury	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 182	3 Jan 2015	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	Eddie Alvarez	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 178	27 Sep 2014	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	Jim Miller	KO (head kick and punches)	2	3:31	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller	16 Jul 2014	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Performance of the Night
Win	Edson Barboza	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	3:15	UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne	19 Apr 2014	Orlando, Florida, U.S.	Performance of the Night
Win	Adriano Martins	KO (head kick)	1	4:40	UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson	25 Jan 2014	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Knockout of the Night
Win	Evan Dunham	Submission (triangle choke)	2	3:49	UFC 167	16 Nov 2013	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Submission of the Night
Loss	Rafael dos Anjos	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2	28 Aug 2013	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Win	K.J. Noons	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 160	25 May 2013	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss	Anthony Pettis	KO (kick to the body)	1	2:35	UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson	26 Jan 2013	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Win	Melvin Guillard	KO (head kick and punch)	1	1:16	UFC 150	11 Aug 2012	Denver, Colorado, U.S.	Catchweight bout; Knockout and Fight of the Night
Win	Jeremy Stephens	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier	15 May 2012	Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Loss	Nate Diaz	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 141	30 Dec 2011	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Win	Dennis Siver	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	2:22	UFC 137	29 Oct 2011	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Submission of the Night
Win	Charles Oliveira	TKO (punches)	1	3:01	UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle	14 Aug 2011	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.	Knockout of the Night
Win	Vagner Rocha	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 131	11 Jun 2011	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win	Paul Kelly	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	3:48	UFC 126	5 Feb 2011	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Win	Chris Horodecki	Submission (triangle choke)	2	2:43	WEC 53	16 Dec 2010	Glendale, Arizona, U.S.
Win	Jamie Varner	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	WEC 51	30 Sep 2010	Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Loss	Benson Henderson	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	1:57	WEC 48	24 Apr 2010	Sacramento, California, U.S.	For WEC Lightweight Championship
Win	Ed Ratcliff	Submission (rear-naked choke)	3	3:47	WEC 45	19 Dec 2009	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Loss	Benson Henderson	Decision (unanimous)	5	5:00	WEC 43	10 Oct 2009	San Antonio, Texas, U.S.	For interim WEC Lightweight Championship; Fight of the Night
Win	James Krause	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:38	WEC 41	7 Jun 2009	Sacramento, California, U.S.
Loss	Jamie Varner	Technical decision (split)	5	3:10	WEC 38	25 Jan 2009	San Diego, California, U.S.	For WEC Lightweight Championship; Fight of the Night
Win	Rob McCullough	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	WEC 36	5 Nov 2008	Hollywood, Florida, U.S.	Fight of the Night
Win	Danny Castillo	Submission (armbar)	1	1:30	WEC 34	1 Jun 2008	Sacramento, California, U.S.
No contest	Kenneth Alexander	No contest (overturned)	1	0:56	WEC 30	5 Sep 2007	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Originally a submission win; overturned after positive test
Win	Yasunori Kanehara	Submission (triangle choke)	2	2:46	Greatest Common Multiple: Cage Force 3	9 Jun 2007	Tokyo, Japan
Win	Anthony Njokuani	Submission (triangle choke)	1	4:30	Ring of Fire 29	28 Apr 2007	Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.
Win	Ryan Roberts	Submission (armbar)	1	1:49	Ring of Fire 28	16 Feb 2007	Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.
Win	Jesse Brock	Submission (triangle choke)	1	1:35	Ring of Fire 26	9 Sep 2006	Castle Rock, Colorado, U.S.	Won ROF Lightweight Championship
Win	Craig Tennant	Submission (armbar)	1	1:26	Ring of Fire 24	17 Jun 2006	Castle Rock, Colorado, U.S.
Win	Cruz Chacon	Submission (triangle choke)	2	2:25	American CF: Genesis	24 Feb 2006	Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Win	Nate Mohr	Submission (triangle choke)	1	1:42	Ring of Fire 21	11 Feb 2006	Castle Rock, Colorado, U.S.	MMA debut