Retired UFC Hall of Famer Cerrone returns to face Pettis in rematch

The two meet in a grappling bout at RAF 15 in November, their first matchup in six years

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, 43, a UFC Hall of Famer, is coming out of retirement four years after stepping away from competition — and his opponent will be former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, 39, the man who beat him twice during his active career.

North American combat sports outlets including Bjpenn.com reported Thursday (Korean Standard Time) that Cerrone will face Pettis at Real American Freestyle (RAF) 15, a grappling event scheduled for Nov. 28 at NOW Arena in Chicago.

The bout will be contested under grappling rules, not mixed martial arts. It will be the first time the two have met since 2020 — roughly six years — and their third career matchup overall.

Pettis won both previous encounters. In their first meeting in January 2013, he knocked Cerrone out in the first round with a body kick followed by punches. The two met again at UFC 249 in May 2020, and while the fight went the distance, Pettis took a unanimous decision to improve to 2-0 against his rival.

For Cerrone, the bout represents a chance at redemption against the man who handed him two losses — even if the rules are different this time.

Anthony Pettis (right) throws a punch at Donald Cerrone during their welterweight bout at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 9, 2020 (local time). [Getty Images]

Cerrone announced his retirement from MMA after a submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276 in July 2022. Over a long UFC career he faced the likes of Mike Perry, Matt Brown and Benson Henderson, and in 2023 he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Since retiring, he has raised the possibility of returning to MMA on several occasions. However, the only confirmed bout at this point is the grappling match at RAF, and it would be premature to characterize his participation as a return to active MMA competition.

Pettis, a former UFC lightweight champion, later competed in the PFL and has appeared across a range of platforms in recent years, including boxing and Karate Combat.

Attention will turn to whether Cerrone, who lost to Pettis twice in the octagon, can finally get the better of him when they meet for the third time after a six-year gap.

yjc@heraldcorp.com