Cerrone has said he is open to fighting McGregor in the future if offered the fight, but that his focus now is on Iaquinta and getting closer to a title shot.
The 36-year-old fan favorite fielded questions from reporters ahead of his fight against “Ragin Al” and disputed claims that fighting McGregor automatically guarantees you a big pay day (via MMAJunkie.com):
“I don’t know about this payday talk,” Cerrone said. “Everyone thinks you fight Conor, you get paid. We’re under contract, man. Now with the ESPN thing, the pay-per-view buys are already done. It’s not like we get -- so it’s a big misconception. Conor might get paid. ‘Cowboy’ might get a little bump, but it’s not a $10 million night for me by any means. I need to go get this belt. That’s where the real money is. Aside from the money, I love it -- fighting three, four times a year. I enjoy the training camp. I enjoy this. The whole process to me, I’m going to miss the [expletive] out of it when I’m done. Right now I’m in it, and I love it.”