Donald Cerrone announces that he will return to the UFC Lightweight division in 2021

MMA icon Donald Cerrone has taken to his official social media account to announce that he will return to the UFC Lightweight division in 2021.

Donald Cerrone has lately faced several challenges in his MMA career

Donald Cerrone, who's fondly referred to as Cowboy by his fans worldwide, holds several UFC records, including the most wins in UFC history at 23.

Cowboy is widely regarded as one of the most entertaining fighters of all time. He has been lauded by the vast majority of combat sports fans and experts for his longevity in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

Cerrone has consistently competed with some of the most elite MMA fighters. He has faced top-tier competitors in the UFC Lightweight and Welterweight divisions, as well as fighting multiple times a year, regardless of which opponent he’s up against.

However, after picking up a dominant five-round unanimous decision victory over Al Iaquinta in a Lightweight bout back in May 2019, Cerrone went on to suffer four consecutive losses. In his most recent fight, he fought to a draw.

The aftermath of the Iaquinta win witnessed Donald Cerrone suffer vicious TKO losses in a pair of lightweight bouts. Cerrone lost via second-round TKO to Tony Ferguson in June 2019, before being beaten via first-round TKO by Justin Gaethje in September 2019.

Donald Cerrone subsequently returned to the Welterweight division and faced Conor McGregor in January, losing via TKO merely 40 seconds into their fight.

The loss to McGregor was followed by a closely contested bout at Welterweight against Anthony Pettis in May. Cerrone lost to Pettis via unanimous decision, but certain sections of the MMA community believed that he ought to have been awarded the decision victory.

Donald Cerrone is looking to rebuild and work his way back to the top

Donald Cerrone’s most recent MMA bout came against Niko Price in the Welterweight division in September. The fight was declared a majority draw, with the judges and the MMA community divided in their opinion regarding who had done more to warrant a win.

A Majority Draw! 👏@CowboyCerrone & @NikoHybridPrice go the distance in a fun one. #UFCVegas11 pic.twitter.com/9Mrj2eHuOy

— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2020

Considering the recent series of developments in his career, it comes as no surprise that Cerrone has been looking forward to reassessing, rebuilding, and working his way back to the top of the UFC food chain.

On that note, Cerrone has now taken to Instagram to reveal that his next fight will take place at Lightweight. He added that he’s back on a mission to get back to setting records.

“2021 I’m coming in hot. Back to lightweight, Back on a mission!! Back to setting Records.”