With a win, UFC’s Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is ready to match wits, fists with Conor McGregor

There’ll be more than a belt at stake Saturday when Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos defends his title for the first time, meeting Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in Orlando, Fla.

The winner of the “UFC on Fox” main event may land Conor McGregor as his next opponent. The broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PST.

McGregor (19-2) ended featherweight champion Jose Aldo’s reign and 10-year unbeaten streak with a title-record 13-second knockout at UFC 194 in Las Vegas, and drew a UFC-record gate in Vegas of $10.1 million at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

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The charismatic Irishman is now the organization’s top draw, and a match with him means riches for the opponent.

McGregor said in his post-fight news conference that he’ll either defend his belt next against featherweight contender Frankie Edgar or move up in pursuit of a second belt.

Cerrone (28-6) began pleading his case for McGregor even before Saturday’s bout. Speaking at a gathering of upcoming main-event fighters in Las Vegas, the lightweight contender saying he’d be willing to trek to a massive Ireland soccer stadium for the fight.

“The son of a gun draws people. He has a whole country behind him. I wish America would back me like that,” Cerrone said. “I’ve been all over the world. I’ve been to Japan, Africa, Morocco, everywhere. Heck yeah, I would go to Ireland. Why not? I’ll show them Irish boys how to drink.

“[McGregor’s] really good at talking smack. I’ve been lined up next to him and he has had nothing to say. I don’t have a personal problem with Conor. He’s playing the game. He’s a salesman. But if he wants to sell the fight, I don’t have a problem with that. If he wants to pump up the fight, I’ll slap him around and call him a little schoolgirl.”

First, “Cowboy” needs to avenge his 2013 loss to 31-year-old Brazilian Dos Anjos (24-7), who won the belt in March by defeating Anthony Pettis.

New Mexico’s Cerrone is a favorite of UFC leadership, cementing his status as a “go-to” fighter. He’s fought four times this year, including a victory over former lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

“That would be a huge fight,” Cerrone said of a match against McGregor. “I would be a fool not to want that fight. I would knock the [heck] out of that kid. His jaw is powerful. He has good trash-talking skills, but he can’t handle the top-10 lightweights.

“I need to win, and then we can dance, baby.”

McGregor answered a suggestion he’d have to vacate his featherweight belt if he moved to lightweight by rejecting that notion.

Although Randy Couture and B.J. Penn previously captured belts in two divisions, neither held the belts simultaneously.

“If I go to lightweight, there’s no way I’m vacating that belt,” McGregor said at his post-fight news conference. “There will be one belt on this shoulder and one belt on the other.”

The more low-key Dos Anos, who lives in Newport Beach, will make his first title defense and said he doesn’t see a reason to believe this fight will be any different from his earlier unanimous decision victory over Cerrone.

“He’s a great fighter, a dangerous guy, and he’s gotten better, but I think I’ve improved even more,” Dos Anjos said. “I don’t see him taking my belt away. I just can’t see it. I can’t visualize that. I’ve improved my skills, my power and I’m a different fighter.

“I’ve seen an interview he did when he said he didn’t give a [darn] about the belt. A guy that thinks like that is not going to take my belt.”

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