On June 1, 2008, MMA lightweights Donald Cerrone and Richard Crunkilton will be facing off in the highly anticipated match for the WEC number-one-contender spot.

Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Cerrone boasts an MMA record of 7-0 (six by triangle choke and one by arm bar), and an impressive 28-0 kickboxing career whilst training under Duane Ludwig.

For this interview, Knucklepit.com catches up with ‘Cowboy’ at Greg Jackson’s Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before Donald commences his second training session of the day after taking a nap between workouts. “This morning we did five 5-minute rounds of MMA sparring. This evening we’re going to do some technique drills and then some kickboxing,” says Cerrone.

With the fight coming up on June 1, Donald is currently at the heavy-duty stage of his training cycle. “I’ll still be going pretty hard for about another week, and then I’ll start tapering off.”

‘Cowboy’ originally got his nickname due to his love for wearing cowboy hats – in particular a black hat which used to read ‘Cowboy up or go and sit in the f**king truck’. Today, the same black hat sports a Tapout logo.

The attention Donald’s headdress drew during his teens also helped to hone his street skills, but now when he steps outside, it’s usually for a different reason. “I like to ride my dirt bike, shoot guns, and do a lot of rock climbing. I like pretty much anything outdoors.”

And these days the Cowboy spends most of his time getting physical as a fast-rising MMA star. For the past two years, he has been training out of Greg Jackson’s Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Donald, what is it about training at Greg Jackson’s that makes it special?

“I think it’s just the caliber and level of intensity that everyone brings, and all the different guys who come through here: We’re like a giant team or giant family, working together and helping each other grow.”

You no longer live on the gym premises. Are you still in Albuquerque?

“Yeah, I live less than a mile away from the gym.”

Was your reason for leaving the dorm there because you wanted to get a break from the training?

“Absolutely. I was here for about a year and a half, and it was just too much – all day, every day. I had to get out.”

Do you actually train with Greg?

“Yeah, I do a lot of personal training with Greg and the team, but the whole program is taught by Greg.”

Is the work you do with Greg MMA or a specific martial art?

“If I don’t have a fight coming up, it’s more of a broad MMA style, but if I do have a fight, it’s more game-plan specific.”

Who are your training partners?

“Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, Leonard Garcia, Damacio Page… The list goes on.”

Does Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig still assist you with your Muay Thai?

“Yep, absolutely. I usually fly back to Colorado and train with him for a few months, then come back here, or he’ll come down and train here.”

With a record of 22-0-1 in Muay Thai, why do you choose to use submissions to end your fights?

“Because all the guys come out and shoot right in on me, so I had to adapt my style and learn the ground game. If I don’t have a ground game, I’m going to get punished down there.”

Would your height advantage be their reason for wanting to take you to the ground?

“I believe so.”

When you can, do you use the Thai boxing skills to soften your opponents up first before submitting them?

“When I can. But there are usually one or two punches thrown and they’re taking me down immediately.”

With you sister being an anesthesiologist, is there a bit of family rivalry between the two of you to see who can knock out the most people?

“No, not at all.”

You haven’t been asked that question before?

“No, never.”

Can you tell us what you were doing when you broke three of your ribs while attempting to jump a sixty-foot gap, please?

“I was just riding a racing quad on the track and we were hitting jumps and whatnot, and I decided to go ahead and hit a big one.”

Was it an organized event?

“Definitely an organized event, but we were just screwing around at that point in time: It wasn’t during a race that it happened.”

Will you be wearing your notorious black cowboy hat into the ring on June 1^st?

“Absolutely.”

Do you want to tell us a bit about it?

“I guess it’s just superstition, man. I’ve worn it every time I’ve walked out, and every time I’ve walked out I’ve won, so I just kinda want to keep that going.”

What do you expect of Richard Crunkilton?

“I’m kinda wondering what his game plan is. I know if he looks at my record, he wouldn’t want to go to the ground because of my submissions. And if he wants to stand… I don’t know what to expect. I think he’ll probably come out and want to throw a couple of punches at me and then try to take me down.”

His record is pretty much even between submissions and TKO, isn’t it?

“Yeah, exactly.”

With your five-inch height advantage over Richard, he’s not likely to want to stand with you, is he?

“He stood with Razor Rob (McCullough)  – I don’t know why, and he got caught. He stood a little bit with Sergio Gomez in his last fight. We’ll see.”

How are you going to win this fight?

“If he takes me down, by submission I believe.” (Laughs). “I doubt he’s going to stand with me.”

Your sponsors?

“Tapout. They were there when I was nobody and they picked me up and just did some wonderful things for me.”

Donald, is there anything you’d like to add?

“I wish Crunkilton good luck and I hope he’s training hard because I will be. So it’s time to come out and go bell to bell. I’d also like to say hello to the fans. They should come along because I’m going to put on a good show for them.”