Donald Cerrone reveals Dana White made his grandma stay home for UFC 249 because of coronavirus

‘I tried, she tried,’ says ‘Cowboy’, whose grandmother Jerry will miss him fighting for the first time in his career

‘She said she’ll drive down there with me. And then Dana called me and said he’s not gonna be responsible for grandma getting sick’

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Donald Cerrone with his grandmother, wife and son after a fight. Photo: Instagram/@cowboycerrone

Published: 12:57pm, 8 May 2020Updated: 3:08pm, 8 May 2020

Donald Cerrone’s grandmother is always a heart-warming fixture of his fights – who can forget her sharing a hug with Conor McGregor in the Octagon after the Irishman had just brutalised “Cowboy” in 40 seconds at UFC 246?

But for the first time in his career, Jerry Cerrone won’t be able to watch him compete. “Cowboy” faces Anthony Pettis this weekend at UFC 249 in Florida, but the event at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is behind closed doors with the UFC implementing strict safety and testing procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And UFC president Dana White had to step in to stop the 82-year-old Grandma Cerrone from jumping into her 37-year-old grandson’s RV and heading to Jacksonville.

“Ah yeah I tried, she tried,” Cerrone said, when asked if she would be cageside on Saturday. “She’s like, ‘I’m just gonna come’, and I was like, ‘No, I’m driving’. She’s like, ‘I’ll drive down there with you’. And then Dana called me and said, ‘I’m not gonna be responsible for grandma getting sick’. He said, ‘I’m already getting enough s*** with all the fighters and all of this that’s going on, I’m not gonna be the guy that gets grandma sick’. And I said, ‘All right, grandma, you’re not gonna be able to make this one’.”

“This is the first fight she hasn’t come to,” Cerrone added. “Kinda crazy, but she’ll be watching, cheering me on the TV. So I probably might have an ear piece getting direct coaching tips from her. Who knows how it’s gonna go?