VIDEO | A young Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone gets in the spotlight on ‘TapouT’ television series

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has made it a long way in his professional mixed martial arts career.

Being a fan favorite and recognized for his highly active fight schedule, we take a look back before Cerrone made it onto the big stage in the UFC.

At the time, Cerrone was training under the brilliance of Duane “Bang” Ludwig and longtime coach Greg Jackson and the members of the Tapout crew went in to check out Cerrone for the first time.

“Punkass,” “SkySkrape,” and the late Charles “Mask” Lewis went in to talk to Ludwig to check out his rising prospects.

Lewis asked Ludwig, “Who’s some of your up and coming young cats?”

UFC veteran and TUF alum Eliot Marshal, UFC veteran Luke Caudillo, and “Cowboy” were some of the names that Ludwig brought up.

“Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, he’s a 55er,” Ludwig’s manager told “Mask.” “He’s tailor-made for the game. He’s 22-0 in Muay Thai with 18 knockouts and he’s 6-0 in MMA, all by submission.”

We see a young Cerrone tell his story on why he started fighting.

“I guess I started fighting, I was in high school,” Cerrone said. “I was 112-pounds my freshman, sophomore, junior year, so I used to get picked on all the time. All the time I’d get picked on. I’d just fight, fight, and fight. And then I came out in my senior year and just grew, had a growth spurt. I guess I hit puberty senior year and I came back big and then I was like, ‘Ok, now y’all wanna fight, so let’s go.’ Bar fighting, street fighting, and ever since then I started training.”

Cerrone has come a long way with his career in MMA. With his very active fighting schedule and impressive performances throughout his career, “Cowboy” has gained a ton of fans and is currently climbing his way up the UFC welterweight rankings after spending most of his time in the lightweight division.

What is your favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone moment? Let us know your favorite memory in the comment section!