This weekend, Donald Cerrone will be headlining UFC Ottawa in a pivotal lightweight clash against Al Iaquinta. But it wasn’t the first choice for Cerrone. Originally, Cerrone had been targeting a lightweight tilt with former two-division champion Conor McGregor, a bout that McGregor had also shown interest in. Ultimately, negotiations for that bout stalled though, and now, Cerrone say’s he’s over trying to chase “Notorious” down.

“The chase is over,” Cerrone told MMA Junkie recently. “It’s done.”

Cerrone vs. McGregor had been a fight in the back of fans’ minds for years as both men are among the most exciting lightweights in the sport, but the fight never made sense. After Cerrone knocked out Alexander Hernandez earlier this year in his return to 155 pounds, McGregor tweeted about fighting Cerrone and suddenly, the stars seemed to have aligned. The kismet was temporary though as, according to Cerrone, the fight never got made because McGregor wanted to main event and the UFC wasn’t interested in that. Ultimately, McGregor went on to retire from MMA, but Cerrone says he had given up on that bout before then so that’s why he’s taking on Iaquinta this weekend.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to wait,’” Cerrone said. “‘Let’s go.’

“They were trying to figure out what they were gonna do with Al and I was like, ‘I’ll fight Al.’ Because right now I’d still be waiting on Conor. It sucks but hey, let’s go out and make some money.”

Of course, none of this means a fight with McGregor is off the table. McGregor’s retirement was short-lived and the UFC is still seemingly looking for a dance partner for the original champ-champ. Should Cerrone beat Iaquinta this weekend, a matchup between the two may make even more sense from the UFC’s perspective. After all, the winner would have a good claim for a title shot, following the unification bout between Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov rumored to be happening in September.

And if that opportunity does arise, Cowboy says he’s still ready to do the damn thing with Conor.

“Who knows, man,” Cerrone said. “I’ll take it if it does, of course. If not, I’ll take whoever’s next. I love my job. I love fighting.”

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VIDEO STEW

The new A-Side Live Chat.

Bellator Countdown.

Mixed Molly Whoppery on Tony Ferguson.

Mike Perry remix.

Top 5 Cerrone finishes.

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LISTEN UP

Heavy Hands. Breaking down this weekend’s event plus discussing Rory MacDonald.

Mookie & Crookie. Discussing Rory, Tito, and Greg Hardy.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Don’t hate that fight at all.

Izzy.

Elias out here educating fools.

Kelvin.

Tony working on that boxing.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Raoni Barcelos (13-1) vs. Carlos Huachin (10-3-2); UFC 237, May 11.

Jinh Yu Frey (8-3) vs. Ayaka Hamasakai (17-2); Rizin 16, June 2.

Mike Kimbel (2-1) vs. Sebastian Ruiz (2-2); Bellator 222, June 14.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2014: Joe Warren won the interim bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over Rafael Silva at Bellator 118.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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