Dana White: 'It's time to have a conversation' with Donald Cerrone after UFC on ESPN+ 36

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White intends to have a chat with Donald Cerrone about his future after UFC on ESPN+ 36.

The octagon legend Cerrone (36-15-1 MMA, 23-12-1 UFC) saw his winless skid extend to five consecutive fights Saturday when he fought to a majority draw with Niko Price (14-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) in the welterweight co-main event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streamed on ESPN+.

If not for a point deduction to Price stemming from an eye poke, “Cowboy” would’ve lost a split decision. White thinks the scoring was fair under the circumstances, but said it wasn’t the type of performance that gave him great hope for Cerrone’s future.

“I thought it was a draw, too,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC on ESPN+ 36 post-fight news conference. “He was on his way out in the first 30 seconds of the first round. He fought back. He’s tough. He’s durable. I love ‘Cowboy’ and I know it’s going to (expletive) crush him and break his heart. It’s time to have a conversation. I need to talk to him. He and I need to have a conversation.”

White was reluctant to go into details of precisely what he wants to say to Cerrone, but made it clear the conversation would stem around retirement. He didn’t want to spill all the beans to the media, and said he preferred to give Cerrone the respect of sharing his full message with him first.

“Let’s talk about stopping,” White said. “I don’t know, man. I’ve got to have this conversation with him and see what he says. I know what he’s going to say: ‘I don’t want to stop.’ But we have to have the conversation.”