Rick Story Prepping for 'War' with Donald Cerrone at UFC 202
Rick Story Prepping for 'War' with Donald Cerrone at UFC 202
By Peter CarrollAfter conquering the two best European charges the UFC’s welterweight division has to offer, Rick Story knows he has an opportunity of a lif
By Peter Carroll
After conquering the two best European charges the UFC’s welterweight division has to offer, Rick Story knows he has an opportunity of a lifetime given the popularity of his next opponent, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
A victory over the former lightweight contender at UFC 202 on August 20 would underline Story’s intentions for the 170-pound championship title, but he could have had his career cut short if not for an innovative neck surgery.
Following his win over Gunnar Nelson in October 2014, Story claimed he was unable to perform simple tasks like opening pickle jars. 17 months later in Las Vegas, Story re-emerged with another success as he saw off Belgium’s Tarec Saffiedine.
The Tacoma native has gone from strength to strength since, and admits that life post-surgery is a “massive relief” after 10 years of functioning through the pain.
“It’s a massive relief,” Story said. “Living my day-to-day life without the pain I had been experiencing is amazing. That pain had been with me for the last 10 years.
“Not being able to train and not being able to fully embrace my attacking style of wrestling for that long changed things, and now it’s going to take me a little while to build up that confidence again and get that familiarity back. Besides that, I’m pretty excited to see where my limits will be now.”
If there is anyone that can help Story find his peak, Cerrone should be a worthy candidate to do exactly that considering his first two outings at welterweight. Showcasing a new intensity from the opening bell on both occasions he competed in the weight class, many now argue ‘Cowboy’ looks even better at the higher weight class following his first-round submission of Alex Oliveira and third-round TKO of Patrick Cote.
But Story doesn’t see much of difference. He believes Cerrone looked “exceptional” in both categories.
“I’m not gonna say that he looks any better as a welterweight,” he dismissed. “I mean, he’s looked exceptional at 155 and in his last fight he looked exceptional at 170. Perhaps the new weight class and not having to cut weight had something to do with it, but I’m still not going to say that he looked any better than he did at 155.
“He’s looked great at both weight classes. I expect that his confidence is high coming off his first two wins at welterweight. I think he’s in a place where he’s really believing in himself, but it would be a hard fight no matter where he was at coming into it.”
It isn’t lost on Story how much exposure a date with Cerrone means to anybody he faces either.
“Believe me, I know that he’s got a huge following. This fight right here gives me the chance to make a statement and solidify myself at the top of the welterweight division. It’s like, ‘Hey people, I’m here.’
“I want to show people that I’m not talking through my ass when I talk about going for that title. I know why people watch ‘Cowboy’ fight. I’m always excited to watch his fights too. I think it’s awesome that I’m getting the opportunity to fight him.”
Story’s trajectory was affected when his neck forced him to the sidelines following his main event win over Nelson in Sweden. While his frustration is expected, he believes he will be more active than ever from now on given the success of the surgery.
“I guess it was kind of expected because of the long layoff. I understand it from a business standpoint. If you’re not being consistent and getting onto peoples’ television sets every few weeks, they’re going to forget who you are. That makes you less marketable. I expected that to happen.
“It’s frustrating. I felt I was doing good and I was building momentum, but I slacked off a bit in terms of any kind of push. I’m in a situation now where I can be more consistent and fight more.”
Knowing how much a win over the surging Cerrone would do for his career, Story claimed that he is readying himself for a war with the division-jumping veteran when they meet at the T-Mobile Arena.
“I expect every fight I go into to be a war and I’m expecting the same against ‘Cowboy’. If I thought it was going to be anything less than that I’d probably end up getting caught,” he laughed. “Cerrone is just so experienced and he’s looked so great over the last couple of years that is guaranteed to be a tough challenge for me no matter what.”
After conquering the two best European charges the UFC’s welterweight division has to offer, Rick Story knows he has an opportunity of a lifetime given the popularity of his next opponent, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
A victory over the former lightweight contender at UFC 202 on August 20 would underline Story’s intentions for the 170-pound championship title, but he could have had his career cut short if not for an innovative neck surgery.
Following his win over Gunnar Nelson in October 2014, Story claimed he was unable to perform simple tasks like opening pickle jars. 17 months later in Las Vegas, Story re-emerged with another success as he saw off Belgium’s Tarec Saffiedine.
The Tacoma native has gone from strength to strength since, and admits that life post-surgery is a “massive relief” after 10 years of functioning through the pain.
“It’s a massive relief,” Story said. “Living my day-to-day life without the pain I had been experiencing is amazing. That pain had been with me for the last 10 years.
“Not being able to train and not being able to fully embrace my attacking style of wrestling for that long changed things, and now it’s going to take me a little while to build up that confidence again and get that familiarity back. Besides that, I’m pretty excited to see where my limits will be now.”
If there is anyone that can help Story find his peak, Cerrone should be a worthy candidate to do exactly that considering his first two outings at welterweight. Showcasing a new intensity from the opening bell on both occasions he competed in the weight class, many now argue ‘Cowboy’ looks even better at the higher weight class following his first-round submission of Alex Oliveira and third-round TKO of Patrick Cote.
But Story doesn’t see much of difference. He believes Cerrone looked “exceptional” in both categories.
“I’m not gonna say that he looks any better as a welterweight,” he dismissed. “I mean, he’s looked exceptional at 155 and in his last fight he looked exceptional at 170. Perhaps the new weight class and not having to cut weight had something to do with it, but I’m still not going to say that he looked any better than he did at 155.
“He’s looked great at both weight classes. I expect that his confidence is high coming off his first two wins at welterweight. I think he’s in a place where he’s really believing in himself, but it would be a hard fight no matter where he was at coming into it.”
It isn’t lost on Story how much exposure a date with Cerrone means to anybody he faces either.
“Believe me, I know that he’s got a huge following. This fight right here gives me the chance to make a statement and solidify myself at the top of the welterweight division. It’s like, ‘Hey people, I’m here.’
“I want to show people that I’m not talking through my ass when I talk about going for that title. I know why people watch ‘Cowboy’ fight. I’m always excited to watch his fights too. I think it’s awesome that I’m getting the opportunity to fight him.”
Story’s trajectory was affected when his neck forced him to the sidelines following his main event win over Nelson in Sweden. While his frustration is expected, he believes he will be more active than ever from now on given the success of the surgery.
“I guess it was kind of expected because of the long layoff. I understand it from a business standpoint. If you’re not being consistent and getting onto peoples’ television sets every few weeks, they’re going to forget who you are. That makes you less marketable. I expected that to happen.
“It’s frustrating. I felt I was doing good and I was building momentum, but I slacked off a bit in terms of any kind of push. I’m in a situation now where I can be more consistent and fight more.”
Knowing how much a win over the surging Cerrone would do for his career, Story claimed that he is readying himself for a war with the division-jumping veteran when they meet at the T-Mobile Arena.
“I expect every fight I go into to be a war and I’m expecting the same against ‘Cowboy’. If I thought it was going to be anything less than that I’d probably end up getting caught,” he laughed. “Cerrone is just so experienced and he’s looked so great over the last couple of years that is guaranteed to be a tough challenge for me no matter what.”