Greg Jackson will handcuff Donald Cerrone to a chair to wait for UFC title shot

Trainer Greg Jackson is apparently willing to go to great lengths to assure Donald Cerrone gets his UFC title shot.

Jackson, head of the famed Jackson-Wikeljohn MMA team in New Mexico, joined AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” on Friday to discuss some of his students, including ex-champ Jon Jones, recent winner Carlos Condit and, of course, “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Cerrone (28-6 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who’s ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, recently picked up his eight consecutive UFC victory with a second-round stoppage of replacement John Makdessi (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at UFC 187 on May 23. Afterward, UFC President Dana White said Cerrone is up next for champion Rafael dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC), who expects to return later this year from an injury.

However, earlier this week, the ever-busy Cerrone, who’s already fought three times this year (with a 15-day turnaround in January to defeat ex-champ Benson Henderson), suggested he didn’t want to wait until a proposed December date for the fight (via Twitter):

Jackson, though, isn’t a fan of Cerrone’s plan. And he’s determined to keep his longtime friend from spoiling a shot at the belt.

“If we have to kidnap him, handcuff him to a chair, and tie him down until that title fight happens, then that’s what we’re going to have to do – if that’s what it takes,” Jackson said. “‘Cowboy’ is so close to me. He’s like a brother. I love him to death. But we’ve actually got to wait for the title shot.

“It’s going to be hard. It’s probably going to be the biggest test of his career – it’s not the actual fight, but the waiting for the actual fight. So hopefully he can make it through that test and get to the fight.”

Check out the full conversation above.

And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.