Why haven't we seen Donald Cerrone reach that elite fighter class ever?

[Taric]

I think Cerrone won the first Bendo fight (Bendo did nothing but fight off subs), but lost the 3rd one.

Yeah the results of the 1st and 3rd fights of this trilogy should be reversed.
Least it came away even in the end I guess.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Idk but his stats are more impressive than most the elite fighters lol. I think he lets the pressure get to him, that's likely why he is constantly doing crazy shit. He doesn't like thinking too much about his opponent or the fight itself which is why he likes to fight often and doesn't mind going in on short notice.

Some of his stats: Tie for second most wins in the UFC (19) Tie for second most finishes in the UFC (13) tie for 3rd most performance bonuses in the UFC (12), won fotn honors 5 times in the WEC and has 6 finishes in the UFC via headkick or stemming from a headkick.

 

[linvillegorge]

Gatekeepers are not elite, no matter where they rank.

If you're one of a handful of the best in the world at what you do you're elite. Period.

 

[Lockard The GOAT]

If you're one of a handful of the best in the world at what you do you're elite. Period.

lol And Cerrone isn't that. He's never been in the top five of anything. Let's not go and dilute the word "elite" by including everyone who is good or even better than average under its label.

 

[linvillegorge]

lol And Cerrone isn't that. He's never been in the top five of anything. Let's not go and dilute the word "elite" by including everyone who is good or even better than average under its label.

Cerrone was the #2 ranked LW when he faced RDA for the title. Hell, he's the #6 current WW coming off of a loss coming off of back to back losses.

"Elite" doesn't necessarily mean the very best. It means among the very best. Like right now, you're being an elite dumbass. You may not be the HW champ of Sherdog dumbass, but you're elite.

 

[Lockard The GOAT]

Cerrone was the #2 ranked LW when he faced RDA for the title. Hell, he's the #6 current WW coming off of a loss coming off of back to back losses.

"Elite" doesn't necessarily mean the very best. It means among the very best. Like right now, you're being an elite dumbass. You may not be the HW champ of Sherdog dumbass, but you're elite.

Said it once, I'll say it again - GATEKEEPERS ARE NOT ELITE. CERRONE IS ENTERTAINING, BUT HE IS A GATEKEEPER AND THUS NOT AN ELITE FIGHTER. (SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO? YOU MADE ME TYPE IN PERMANENT CAPS JUST TO GET MY POINT ACROSS.)

 

[Squall10]

Cerrone was the #2 ranked LW when he faced RDA for the title. Hell, he's the #6 current WW coming off of a loss coming off of back to back losses.

"Elite" doesn't necessarily mean the very best. It means among the very best. Like right now, you're being an elite dumbass. You may not be the HW champ of Sherdog dumbass, but you're elite.

Elite usually means always in the top five. Think Frankie Edgar. Cerrone spent all of 2 weeks ranked in top 5 when he fought RDA. Eddie Alvarez is more elite because he actually won a belt. More than 1 if you count Bellator. Nate Diaz is more elite than Cerrone because he deserves to be in top 5 and arguably beat LW champ Conor twice. Why can't Cerrone win the big one to put him over the top?

 

[marvinparsons]

It might be due to some lack of game planning. Maybe he fights with too much emotion. But he did win fights against Eddie Alvarez, Matt Brown, Edson, ect which were high leverage/pressure fights.

Maybe he's just a B+/A- fighter and that is his ceiling. There isn't anything wrong with that.

I didn't say he wasn't good. He is world class, just inconsistent and probably not always 100% prepared. That's just how the guy rolls. Some people would rather live balls to the wall and not reach their full potential, obsessively controlling every possible variable like GSP. For Cerronne that's more rewarding than being a robot that never loses.

 

[SketchBounce]

Cerrone has been a fan favorite for a long time and he has big wins over former champions like Alvarez in his first UFC fight and Benson in the third of their trilogy... but for some reason he's never won a championship himself despite IMO being an elite striker and submission grappling that's second-to-none at LW and WW. Why's he never made it?

Simple. Because Cerrone is not an elite level fighter.

 

[Thug Rose]

Well, first...his striking style isn't good for MMA....why? Because YOU suddenly think Alvarez is over rated? Because guys like Barboza and Lawler (whom he outstruck, he also out struck RDA in their first fight) aren't elite strikers. His one dimensional approach that apparently includes never shooting for a takedown and a little grappling from the bottom has resulted in at least 1 take down in 4 of his last 6 fights...one which ended up with a submission...from the top.

Oh and Benson danced around and jabbed Cerrone's thigh for 3 rounds. Benson landed more, Cerrone landed better. Neither did much to win, at all. Gift is an insane thing to call that fight.

He moved up, people said he'd get bullied. But he did the bullying. Guys like Matt Brown, Rick Story, Patrick Cote....they were too big and too tough for him. One body shot and he'd be done. Not at WW, because that was everyone's strategy and nobody has really even hurt him with one. He finished them all, pretty spectacularly too I might add. His problem is head movement. Jorge is a stud, with great MMA boxing for sure, and caught him. It happens. I thought he won the Lawler fight but it was close.

Read that again, lilly livered choker Donald Cerrone stood and traded with Robbie fuckin' Lawler for three rounds, and you could make an argument he won. Super close fight, even after Robbie went psycho on him in the first round.

i disagree with a few things but i see where youre coming from.

 

[whougonnacall]

Lots of guys jump in and out of top 10 but are not elite. Jake Ellenburger, Thales Leites, Martin Kampmann, etc

Cerrones been theres fot ages though...thats elitd

 

[That209]

He tends to give up if he's not dominating

Why didn't he give up in the Lawler or Diaz fights then? Cerrone has been known to be a slow starter and many times wasn't dominating at all in the first round, even sometimes getting dominated himself but he never gave up. He'd eventually come back and end up beating the shit out of his opponent or makes it competitive until the end. The only time he's "given up" is when he got hurt badly and put away.

Other than that, he's really always tried his best. When he loses it's because his opponent was just better, not because he 'gives up'. Chael against Jones and Rashad is giving up. Rumble against DC in the rematch is giving up, etc, etc. Cerrone never gave up in any of his fights, he simply lost to somebody that night or just better in general. The shots he took from Lawler and the prolonged beating from Nate would've made most people quit, but he didn't.

He is elite

Looks at his resume.

How many good fighters has he destroyed.

Not everyone can be a champ but he's had some amazing runs and is HOF.

Beating everybody besides the champion doesn't mean shit. If you can't win the belt it means you're not elite and were never that good to begin with. You know how it works around here.

You can win 10 in a row over legit opponents, but when you finally lose, it means you were never that good, you always sucked and all your wins are irrelevant because you lost.

Once you lose a fight, that's it, you're finished. You're overrated, your record sucks because your opponents suck because they lost to you, etc.

The mind of a typical 'MMA fan'.