SAN ANTONIO – If Donald Cerrone could pass the “Cowboy” torch to anyone, it’s Yair Rodriguez.
Cerrone, who was announced as a 2023 UFC Hall of Fame inductee this past Saturday, was known for his willingness to fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. His “Cowboy” moniker also came from his outdoors lifestyle, which newly crowned interim featherweight champion Rodriguez shared with him for a good portion of his career.
“Yair Rodriguez, that’s my dude,” Cerrone told reporters backstage. “Him winning the interim title made me so happy. I remember training with him before he was in the UFC and yes, he’s hard to deal with – I went to bat with him on two different occasions with Hunter. Like, that’s my dude. Let’s figure it out. He lost his passport, he couldn’t get a visa. It was a whole bunch of – but he means business. When he goes out there, you see him throw and be ready, and like wow, he’s the one.”
Cerrone provided plenty of insight into Rodriguez, who has grown to have quite the career. But the most valuable piece of advice he taught him was just to enjoy the journey.
“He’s been a big part of my entire career,” Cerrone added. “I would literally call him like, ‘Hey, we got another camp, you want to come down? I know you also have a fight.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be right there.’ And he would literally just drive from Mexico to my house, and he would come train.
“He was just always like my No. 1 fan. He was always there, riding bikes with me, lifting with me, swimming with me. Whatever I wanted to do, he was there and in return, I taught him how to have fun and enjoy the journey. So it’s cool that it worked, and he listened and enjoyed it, and now look at the motherf*cker, right?”
Donald Cerrone talks relationship with Yair Rodriguez, teaching interim UFC champ ‘how to have fun’