At 41 years old, Donald Cerrone, whose record is 36 wins and 17 losses, announced his return from retirement through a video on Instagram. He retired in July 2022 after facing a six-fight losing streak but now plans to participate in two more fights to reach the milestone of having fifty fights under his belt. In his statements, ‘Cowboy’ revealed that his focus has been on number 50 for a while.

And even the former UFC lightweight contender himself admitted that after the end of his career, he began using drugs banned in professional sports; he’s still planning to make a return. This sudden move has caused a ripple effect in the MMA community. First came UFC CEO Dana White, who strongly opposed the idea. And now even Daniel Cormier has chimed in and revealed why he believes it would be a bad idea to let Donald Cerrone return.

In a recent video, Cormier revealed his thoughts on the matter as he openly opposed the decision. He stated that while he does like the fighter, the fact that he has had to use enhancers to reach the level of competition again. DC said, “Cowboy’s been openly doing steroids, and while I like him, it doesn’t matter how I feel about him personally or what our relationship is right now. The fact is, he hasn’t been clean. Even if he can come back, pass tests, and re-enter competition, the reality is he had to use enhancers to feel like he could compete at that level again.”

He further added that allowing him to return would be unfair to those who chose the cleaner path and might actually create a loophole that might be used in the future. “Sure, he would test clean once he reenters, but isn’t that just a loophole? It’s like when fighters get injured, leave the testing pool to recover, and then re-enter once they’re ready. It’s not technically illegal, but is it right? They’ve been enhanced during recovery, and now they feel good enough to compete in the elite UFC competition. To me, that doesn’t seem fair.”

The fighter, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is considered one of the most popular in UFC history, ranking second all-time in wins with a total of 23, and third in appearances, with 38. Despite announcing his retirement after losing to Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone has expressed his ambition to be first in several categories. This includes the total number of wins and finishes in the UFC. However, one major hurdle that stands in his way is Dana White.

Dana White hates the idea of a Donald Cerrone return

Although his immediate goal is to reach 50 fights, Cerrone has also expressed his desire to reach other records. Among his achievements, he fought a fight for the UFC lightweight championship in 2015, where he was unable to become champion after losing to Rafael dos Anjos. So now he is all geared up to mark his return. However, when Dana White was asked about the move, he made sure to announce that he was completely against the idea.

White claimed that Cerrone had nothing to prove. And if it’s a matter of money, he would love to find alternative means to help out one of his best fighters ever. However, a return to the Octagon seems to be out of the question for him. White said, “I hate it. I love him, but I hate that. He retired. For what? What’s left to prove? If it’s about making money, we can figure something else out. When guys retire, they retire for a reason—they know it’s over. It’s hard to walk away from, not just the money, but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, getting in the cage, and hearing the crowd.” 

The head honcho further added, “It’s time for him to stop going to war—there’s nothing left for him to prove.” Well, it surely looks like White won’t be the one approving the return. So it would be interesting to see if ‘Cowboy’ decides to stay retired or maybe join other promotions such as the PFL. What do you think? Would it be the right move to let Cerrone return to the UFC? Let us know in the comments.