Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone made history last week by submitting "Platinum" Mike Perry with an armbar to take hold of the records for Most Wins and Most Finishes in UFC history. Not only that, but Cowboy also got the last laugh on the coaches at JacksonWink MMA Academy after a drawn-out public divorce between the fighter and his long-time camp. The cherry on top for Cerrone was that his newborn son, his first child, was present at the event and was brought into the cage for a heartfelt familial celebration.

With so many positive storylines swirling around his latest win, it's easy to be happy for Cowboy Cerrone right now. The veteran fighter announced that he plans to move back down to his natural Lightweight division for his next fight, and many analysts are of course speculating as to who he may be matched up against. Somehow, bizarrely, Conor McGregor is being floated as a good matchup for Cerrone. This article will explore why that prospective matchup doesn't make sense from a promotional, sporting, or entertainment standpoint.

From a Sporting Perspective, Cowboy's Recent Record is Very Weak

It's no secret that the UFC often prioritizes promotional interests over sporting merits in its matchmaking, but that doesn't mean that fans and analysts should accept the UFC as a WWE-esque "sports entertainment" program. Later we will discuss why Cowboy/Conor doesn't serve promotional interests, but first let's figure out whether a Cowboy/Conor fight makes sense for MMA as a sport.

Conor McGregor is the #2 ranked Lightweight in the world, and was the undisputed champion until he was stripped of the title for inactivity earlier this year. Normally, one would expect a recent champion to be matched with another top contender after losing the title, especially when the champion is still in the prime of his career. Just look at the most recent prior Lightweight champions, for example -- after Eddie Alvarez lost his title, he fought the surging Dustin Poirier; when Rafael dos Anjos lost his title, he fought top contender Tony Ferguson; when Anthony Pettis lost his title, he next fought Edson Barboza. All of those opponents were ranked in the top 10 of their division at the time of the fight, and some were in the top 5.

Contrast that with Cowboy Cerrone, currently the #12 ranked fighter in the Welterweight division. Why would McGregor's next fight after a title loss be against someone who's not even in the top 10? And it's not as if Cowboy's recent record indicates that he should be ranked any higher -- Cerrone has a 2-4 record in his last six fights. His prior fight was a clear decision loss to the virtually unknown Leon Edwards. Both of his wins in that run have come over unranked opponents. In fact, Cowboy hasn't defeated a top-10 ranked opponent since narrowly earning a split decision win over Benson Henderson in January of 2015.

It's not as if there is some shortage of available opponents at Lightweight -- the division is arguably the UFC's most loaded with talent, and almost all of them would be fresh matchups for McGregor, who has only fought three of the fighters currently ranked at Lightweight.

From a Promotional Standpoint, Cowboy is Not a PPV Draw

Turning back to the idea that the UFC is more concerned with making matchups that draw than making matchups that make sense for the sport, Cowboy is still not a justified opponent for McGregor. McGregor is the biggest star, and the biggest draw, in UFC history. It goes without saying that his next fight will be on PPV, and the UFC will depend on that PPV to be among their most lucrative nights of the year. There is certainly an argument that the UFC could entirely forego sporting interests and seek to put McGregor in a "money fight" with a big name opponent.

However, Cowboy is not nearly enough of a proven draw to fall into that "money fight" category. Cowboy Cerrone is not a PPV draw; in fact Cowboy has never headlined a PPV show. That's not to say that he doesn't have a significant following, but it is not the sort of money-drawing following that would make the UFC eager to overlook his lack of sporting credentials.

Cowboy has headlined seven UFC television cards in his career. That's barely more than the actual top contenders at Lightweight -- Dustin Poirier, ranked directly behind McGregor at #3 in the Lightweight division, has headlined five UFC television events; Kevin Lee, ranked at #4, is an ascending star who has headlined three events in a row, including a PPV event. So the two Lightweight contenders ranked immediately after McGregor, both coming off of wins, seem to have similar drawing experience to Cerrone. There is no promotional reason to have Cerrone skip the line.

From an Entertainment Standpoint, Let's See McGregor Do More

Love him or hate him, Conor McGregor is a transcendent star (perhaps the only transcendent star in MMA). McGregor established himself as a special star by ending Jose Aldo's legendary championship reign, and eventually cemented himself as an all-time memorable fighter by dominating Eddie Alvarez to become one of the only two-division champions in MMA history. Even with those accomplishments under his belt, many fans seem unconvinced that McGregor is a "great" fighter. They point to evidence such as his difficulty in past matchups with Nate Diaz (who is arguably more of a middle-of-the-pack Lightweight than a top fighter, though that's a debate for another day), the futility of his performance in a one-sided loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and a general perception that McGregor's hype supersedes his skill.

Whether rooting for McGregor to add to his legend, or hoping that he stumbles and is exposed as something less mythical, fans want to see McGregor strive for greatness. They want to see him tested against the absolute best in the world. To match McGregor with an opponent who has not beaten a top-10 fighter since 2015 would certainly not test McGregor, nor give him an opportunity to build his legacy.

And if McGregor is booked based on marketable narratives, again, there's many better options than Cerrone. McGregor has no history whatsoever with Cerrone, besides offhandedly dismissing him at a press conference years ago. Meanwhile, UFC could produce some entertaining narratives by rematching McGregor against an old foe. Perhaps the aforementioned Dustin Poirier could get a chance to prove he is now a seasoned, complete fighter who is ready to fight at the championship level by avenging his KO loss to McGregor. That first loss was marked by heavy mental warfare from McGregor back when the two were Featherweights. Similarly, MMA legend Jose Aldo could get his chance to avenge the infamous 13-second knockout loss against McGregor. Both of those fighters are highly ranked and coming off of a win. And of course, there's always the option of having McGregor fight a rubber match against Nate Diaz, who owns a submission win over McGregor. Even Featherweight champion Max Holloway could throw his name in the mix for a McGregor rematch if he does in fact move up to Lightweight after struggling to make it to the cage in his recently booked Featherweight title defenses.

Does Cowboy "Deserve" It?

The final argument in favor of Cowboy Cerrone is that Cowboy deserves a big money fight (or a "red panty night," as McGregor has said). This theory posits that because Cowboy has fought frequently and has entertained the fans with high-action matchups for years, he should be rewarded with a fight against the biggest star in the history of the sport.

This misses the mark on two levels. For one, it gives too much credit to Cowboy. This likely isn't a popular criticism of the charismatic fan favorite, but he made a conscious choice to focus his career on quantity over quality. Cowboy (and his coaches) have spoken openly about how Cerrone isn't always focused on improving his MMA career, and is prone to run off and spend his time drinking, hunting, partying, and essentially playing around outdoors, even during fight camps. Cerrone has had no shortage of big matchups that could have been opportunities to ascend to that level of championship-tier/money fight relevance. Instead, he lost his championship shot in a quick first-round TKO, and has mostly sought out frequent fights against lesser known fighters rather than waiting and working for the top guys. It further hurts his case that in recent years, Cowboy has lost some of those low-profile matchups.

Additionally, that argument unfairly discounts the fact that other fighters have been similarly active, with similarly action-packed fights, but with more wins and against better opponents. Over the past two years, Cowboy has fought six times and is 2-4; in the same timeframe the aforementioned Dustin Poirier has fought five times, with a 4-0-1 record. Poirier fought better quality opponents, and all of his fights were just as action-packed as Cerrone's. Kevin Lee is 3-1 in the same timeframe. Should we really be impressed that Cerrone fights one more fight per year than Kevin Lee, when Lee is defeating ranked opponents and ascending the rankings, while Cerrone performs inconsistently against lesser fighters?

Conclusion: Cowboy and McGregor Don't Compliment One Another

Clearly Cowboy Cerrone doesn't have the record to fight McGregor, isn't a big enough draw to cut the line, and generally can't articulate a case for being more deserving than active Lightweights with superior records. But even putting all of that to the side, a Cowboy/Conor matchup probably wouldn't gel as well as some fans seem to think.

A large part of McGregor's appeal is how he builds his fights. McGregor is so confrontational that he was charged with felonies in the build to his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Cowboy Cerrone seems incompatible with that kind of animosity; he has spoken openly about how he has seen a sports psychologist, and it is widely discussed that Cerrone performs better when his opponent shows mutual respect rather than hostility. Mike Perry acknowledged this at their press conference face-off; this mindset was also evident in the build to Cowboy's fight with Matt Brown, among others.

That is not to say that Cowboy could not handle McGregor's goading, but it would be a waste of McGregor's showmanship to match him with a dancing partner who has no interest in engaging with his outrageous antics. And while some fans might imagine that the fight would make up for that with the action inside the cage, Cerrone's chin may finally be eroded from his years of frequent wars. Cowboy was recently knocked out by Jorge Masvidal, a fighter with just three finishes by KO/TKO in his 15-fight UFC career (one of which was partially due to his opponent's toe being caught in the cage). It's easy to imagine Cowboy's chin could not endure McGregor, who has seven KO/TKO wins in 11 UFC bouts.

Taken together, it's not clear why so many fans and analysts are calling for Cerrone to be McGregor's next opponent. Whoever McGregor fights next, the world will surely be watching regardless of opponent. But here's hoping it's someone more deserving than Cowboy Cerrone standing across the cage from McGregor.