Donald Cerrone wanted a fight in Denver, and he shall have it – against a former teammate.
"Cowboy," who was born in nearby Colorado Springs, next month will fight Melvin Guillard at UFC 150 in a lightweight bout between two recent title contenders. UFC officials on Friday announced the fight booking, which will serve as the co-main event of the card.
UFC 150 takes place Aug. 11 at Denver's Pepsi Center and features a main event lightweight title fight between champion Benson Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar, a rematch from their UFC 144 main event. Main-card fights air on pay-per-view, while FX and Facebook are expected to carry the prelims.
Cerrone (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in May dominated Jeremy Stephens to get back in the win column at UFC on FUEL TV 3 in Virginia. After winning his first four fights in the UFC, Cerrone dropped a unanimous decision to Nate Diaz this past December at UFC 141.
The win over Stephens got him back on track, but also had him clamoring for a fight on his old home turf. "I want to fight in Denver," Cerrone said after beating Stephens. He followed that up by lobbying for a fight against former WEC champ Anthony Pettis, but that didn't materialize.
Guillard (47-11-3 MMA, 11-6 UFC) just this past week picked up a unanimous decision victory over Fabricio Caomes at UFC 148 in Las Vegas. That victory got him back in the win column, as well, after dropping two straight first-round submissions to Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller.
Cerrone and Guillard are former teammates at the Greg Jackson/Mike Winkeljohn camp in Albuquerque, N.M. Cerrone still is a mainstay at that camp, but Guillard this past fall left the team to hook up with the Imperial Athletics "Blackzilians" camp in Florida.
Guillard has won six of his past eight fights and nine of his past 12; Cerrone has won seven of his past eight.
