After meeting, UFC 206's Donald Cerrone says Dana White '1,000' percent receptive to concerns

TORONTO – After exchanging words in the press, UFC welterweight Donald Cerrone met with promotion president Dana White to hash things out.

Cerrone had planned for a dinner, but the two instead talked for around 15-20 minutes following a media day for UFC 206. And according to Cerrone, the meeting was “very good.”

“He’s a happy man, and I’m a happy man,” Cerrone (32-7 MMA, 19-4 UFC) said after his head-kick knockout of Matt Brown (20-16 MMA, 13-10 UFC) on the pay-per-view main card of Saturday’s event at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. “I just talked about what I wanted and what he expected out of me.”

At that media day, Cerrone said he wanted some sort of retirement plan, a pension and health care when he hung up his gloves in three or four years. Those concerns were part of the reason he signed on with the MMA Athletes Association, though he later admitted he wasn’t quite prepared for the level of commitment sought by the group.

White felt blindsided by Cerrone’s participation in the association. In characteristic fashion, he fired back at the UFC veteran, downplaying his career and suggesting he was ungrateful for previous help.

Cerrone deflected the verbal shots. But when he met face-to-face with his longtime promoter, it wasn’t a combative encounter. He said White was “1,000 percent receptive” to his ideas, and they came to an understanding.

“It was always in a good place,” Cerrone said of their relationship. “It reminds me of when you get in trouble with your dad, and they don’t ground you, they just tell you how disappointed they are in you, which is worse. So that’s kind of what he did to me.

“He’s like, ‘You let me down.’ Not so much let him down, but it was kind of a slap in his face. I guess I should have let him know what I was getting involved in. It is what it is, but we’re on the up-and-up now.”

It’s unclear where that leaves Cerrone when it comes to his role in the MMAAA, which is struggling to gain traction amid a behind-the-scenes fight with a group of class-action litigators.

But nothing has changed about his desire to stay busy. After knocking out Brown, he called for a spot on UFC on FOX 23, which takes place Jan. 28 in his hometown of Denver.

While he’d like to halt the title rise of contender Demian Maia, he welcomed a bout with Jorge Masvidal, who called him out following a win this past weekend.

“If I had to pick one, it would be Demian Maia, because he’s on the way to the title fight,” Cerrone, the No. 13 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings said of the No. 5 fighter. “If I had to hurry up and choose someone for Denver, whoever they want to give me.”

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