Donald Cerrone isn’t sure what to make of Anthony Smith recently accusing him of inappropriate behavior.
During an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast this past May, Smith claimed that a drunken “Cowboy” and celebrity friend Dan Bilzerian forced Smith’s family and friends out of front row seats at the start of his light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 253 in March 2019. Smith also accused Bilzerian of watching pornography while next to Smith’s mother after the seat shuffling.
Cerrone fights Joe Lauzon this weekend at UFC Austin and he had his chance to share his side of the story at a media day for the event Wednesday.
“For one, I saw Anthony a couple of times and he never said anything, so why he waited for three years to go by — I just don’t know if he’s trying to stay relevant, why he would bring that up,” Cerron said. “You know, because you go to the fights, your name is literally on your chair in Dana’s section. So, ‘Cowboy. Cowboy.’ Nobody was sitting in my seat when we showed up there. It’s not like we were like, ‘Hey, mom, get out, you’re not in this seat.’ You walk in the back, the security grabs you and walks you to your seat, ‘Ticket 6, 7, OK, right there and there.’
“It’s not like you can just free range walk around any seat you want and be like, ‘Get out, you’re in my seat’ or ‘Get out, I want to sit there.’ And if they were there and we kicked them out, how did we find another seat? The whole story doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t get it, but I’m not sure where he even fabricated this story from. It’s funny to me and then to say Dan was in there watching porn. That means after we threw your grandma and mom out of their seat, they sat behind us? It’s strange to me, so I don’t know.”
As Cerrone heads into his 38th UFC appearance, he sits at or near the top of several promotional leaderboards including most wins (23, tied with Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski), the second-most finishes (16), and the third-most appearances.
Asked whether he finds Smith’s accusations upsetting in regards to their effect on his legacy, Cerrone reacted more with confusion than anger.
“More [annoyed with] the people that don’t know what’s going on, when they like make comments like, ‘Oh, you’re going to kick another grandma out?’” Cerrone said. “Like, those people aren’t even educated enough to know what’s going on in the story. But in this world, you can get on social media and say anything you want so I’m numb to it now.
“I don’t get why Anthony didn’t just come to me and call me. If he was there and seen it and witnessed it, why wasn’t something said right there on the spot? Why would you wait three years to come out with it? And if I was drunk — which probably was a pretty serious case at a UFC fight — the seat still said ‘Cowboy’ on it. I don’t recall kicking anybody out. Could it have happened? Possibly. Doubt it. But I would definitely not have kicked somebody’s mom or grandma out of a seat, I’m not that guy. If it was another dude, probably like, ‘Hey man, scoot over, you’re in my seat.’ But someone’s mom? I’m not that guy. Plus, I know everybody here. I would just find another seat. It’s a strange story to me, but whatever.”
