Donald Cerrone has shared the cage with several big punchers, but nobody hit him harder than bull-riding legend Ross Coleman.
In 2013, Coleman, along with fellow PBR pros Colby Yates and Brendon Clark, were put through their paces in an MMA session by former UFC stars Cerrone and Mike Pyle at the Xtreme Couture gym.
At the end of the workout, they all sparred with Cerrone and ‘Cowboy’ admits Coleman rocked him with a heavy blow.
Asked who hit him the hardest during his career in a fan Q&A, Cerrone said: “A guy named Ross Coleman, he’s a PBR, or they call it Ring of Honour, which is the Hall of Fame [for bull riding].
“PBR came out to the gym, and Ross got in there and sparred with me.
“He lit me up, he threw one right down the pipe, and it almost knocked me out.
“I felt it for the whole next day. My head was all rattled.
“He’s a big old son of a b*****, so getting hit by him was like fair enough, buddy.
“So that is probably the hardest I have legitimately been hit.”
Coleman ended a fruitful 13-year bull riding career, which included 13 consecutive PBR finals, in 2011 at the age of 32.
Despite Cerrone imploring him to pick up the gloves and try MMA full-time, he never did.
In the years that followed their sparring session, Cerrone strung together an illustrious career that earned him a UFC Hall of Fame induction in 2023.
GettyColeman is a pro bull rider with serious power in both hands[/caption]
Cerrone fought 38 times with MMA’s premier promotion during an 11-year tenure.
He is tied for the second-most wins in UFC history alongside Andrei Arlovski and Charles Oliveira, with 23 and defeated several former world champions, including Benson Henderson, Eddie Alvarez and Oliveira.
He never won a UFC title himself, although he did challenge for the lightweight crown in 2015 against Rafael dos Anjos, losing via first-round TKO.
His most prominent night as a professional came in 2020 when he squared off against Conor McGregor at UFC 246 in the Irishman’s first fight in the Octagon since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor made quick work of the rugged veteran, blasting him out inside the opening 40 seconds.
‘Notorious’ swole Cerrone’s eye shut with shoulder strikes before landing a brutal head kick and closing the show with some heavy ground and pound.
At the time of writing, it is McGregor’s last pro MMA triumph.
The 36-year-old has two fights remaining on his UFC contract but hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
