LOS ANGELES -- For a brief period of time in September, the mixed martial arts community was electrified by the prospect of a bout between former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone.
The matchup of two of the sport's most exciting fighters was expected for UFC 205 on Nov. 12. But then Lawler, who was just a month removed from being knocked out by Tyron Woodley to lose the title at UFC 201 when the Cerrone fight was made public, then pulled out of the fight.
Cerrone, instead, will fight Kelvin Gastelum at Madison Square Garden. But the popular JacksonWink vet admits the idea of fighting Lawler still gets him excited.
"I was super excited about that," Cerrone recently said. "Lawler is a great friend of mine."
Cerrone, who has won three straight fights since going up to welterweight, says Lawler called to tell him personally the bout was off before it reached the media, something he personally respects.
"He called me before it came out and said listen, I have to let you know I've got to pull out," Cerrone said. "I appreciated that. I was looking forward to throwing down with him."
While he doesn't have a specific reason why Lawler had to pull out of the fight, he figures if someone as tough as Lawler had to take some time off, it had to be for a good reason.
"I don't know mentally what was going on with Lawler, he's not really a guy that pulls out of fights," Cerrone said. "He's a tough dude. What I think might have happened, maybe he got rocked in sparring, or maybe his head wasn't all the way healed up. Maybe there wasn't enough time. Those are just things I'm making up, I don't really know what was going on with him, those are just things that can happen."
There's no guarantee the planets will ever again align in a way that makes Lawler-Cerrone happen. But with 44 of their combined 58 wins via finish, there's little doubt fireworks would go down if they ever do square off.
"I still respect the sh*t out of the dude," Cerron said. "He's a good friend of mine, I have more respect for him calling me first and letting me know, that tells you how he is. This is a guy that would be a hell of a fight."