'Cowboy' Cerrone: I didn't show up to fight Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 17

ORLANDO, Fla. – It was not a good night for Donald Cerrone by any stretch of the imagination.

In his first shot at a UFC title, “Cowboy” was overwhelmed by lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and taken out in just 66 seconds. It was the fastest loss of his career, snapping an eight-fight winning streak on the road to the title shot, and was just the second time he had been stopped by strikes.

Dos Anjos (25-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) tore through Cerrone (28-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC) in the UFC on FOX 17 main event on Saturday at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. After the fight, Cerrone said the loss was a matter of him not showing up.

“Sometimes you just don’t show up to work, so you get your ass kicked,” Cerrone told MMAjunkie at the post-event news conference. “Hat’s off to the son of a (expletive). He did what he had to do. … The knee is what started it. Then he put a great onslaught of punches on me. He did a great job overwhelming me, and he did what he had to do to remain champ. Sometimes you just don’t show up, and in our profession, that’s a bad day.”

Cerrone twice fought for the lightweight title when he was in the WEC, both times losing to Benson Henderson, who would go on to win the title in the UFC. Saturday’s loss to dos Anjos was a rematch from a little more than two years ago – and Cerrone’s most recent setback before running things back with the champ.

With 19 UFC fights in five years with the company, Cerrone has been one of the promotion’s busiest fighters. In January, in fact, he beat Myles Jury, then came back two weeks later to fight Henderson when a new opponent was needed.

But ahead of the title fight against dos Anjos, Cerrone had to wait about seven months between fights while dos Anjos healed from a knee surgery. That layoff was not typical, but at the time worth it in the name of a title shot.

Now, though, will Cerrone be ready to get back in immediately, if asked?

“I have no idea how that will work,” Cerrone said. “I don’t even know if (the UFC will) want to call me after that ass whipping. But that’s what I do is fight. Sometimes you just don’t show up. I don’t have an excuse – I just wasn’t there. He showed up and did what he had to do.”

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Events section of the site.