RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen is not a fan of UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone eyeing a comeback to MMA.
Cerrone (36-17 MMA, 23-14 UFC) retired after a submission loss to Jim Miller, and was quickly inducted as a part of the UFC’s 2023 Hall of Fame. Retirement from professional fighting can undoubtedly have its perks, and Cerrone discovered something he thoroughly enjoyed: PEDs.
“I mean, right now, all the good sh*t after the non-USADA approved sh*t, I feel like I’m f*cking 21 again,” Cerrone told reporters last year on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet. “You know what I’m saying? I’m telling you, guys – any of you fighters, when you’re done, go ahead and get on the TRT and put your wife in a bind because that’s when you’ll feel like an 18-year-old boy again.”
At the time, Cerrone said it would take “a crazy number” monetarily to bring him out of retirement. However, in recent days, Cerrone said he wants to return to the UFC for two more fights to reach 50 Zuffa fights across his WEC and UFC careers.
Considering his admitted use of steroids and other PEDs, Eblen is firmly against “Cowboy’s” return to action.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to like retire, take a bunch of steroids, and then come back and fight again,” Eblen told reporters at a post-fight news conference. “It’s not a good look, man.”
Eblen also believes Conor Mcgregor, who hasn’t competed since breaking his lower leg in a trilogy fight against his American Top Team teammate Dustin Poirier, has started a trend of getting on PEDs while out of the drug testing pool in order to get ready for a big return.
“I think Conor paved the way, and I think he’s influencing a lot of other people to do it,” Eblen said. “I think people are trying to fight past their prime and use all these substances, and it’s just not natural. It’s not good. Your brain doesn’t heal from steroids, so all that CTE just adds up.
“I’m very against steroids. I’m very against people fighting past their prime.”
