Cowboy wanted to fight T-Woodley on 24-hours notice

Published on Monday, 2/2/15, at 1:01 a.m. Eastern.

cowboyceTyron Woodley beat Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s co-main event for UFC 183 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. But the fight almost didn’t happen.

Gastelum was never on track to make weight for the welterweight showdown. He tipped the scales at 180 pounds late Friday afternoon, coming up nine pounds short of the required weight for a non-title bout in the 170-pound loop.

There were reports that eventually came out Friday night indicating that Gastelum had been battling the flu for a few days. He reportedly had to be briefly hospitalized.

For many hours late Friday afternoon and into the evening, there was a lot of doubt as to whether the co-main was going to take place ahead of Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz.

During this window of time, lightweight contender Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone decided to send UFC President Dana White a text message. According to White in a post-fight interview, ‘Cowboy’ texted him this, “Hey, I want you to know that I am one-thousand percent serious! I will fight Tyron Woodley tomorrow night – please get me on the next flight to Vegas.”

Cerrone, who is in the midst of a seven-fight winning streak, fights at 155 pounds, but he’s willing to take a fight and collect a paycheck at anytime. The dude has massive ‘onions’ (Bill Raftery phrase) and that’s why he’s one of MMAs biggest stars.

White said he replied to ‘Cowboy:’ “Thanks kid. Now go have a great weekend.”

After destroying Myles Jury and handing the youngster his first career loss, Cerrone agreed to take a fight 15 days later on short notice. He defeated Benson Henderson, the former lightweight champ, by unanimous decision on Jan 18.

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