Johnny Eblen dislikes Donald Cerrone MMA return after using steroids: ‘Conor paved the way’

Johnny Eblen is the latest fighter to criticize the “Cowboy” comeback.

Longtime UFC veteran Donald Cerrone recently announced he plans to come out of retirement in pursuit of being the first fighter to log 50 in-cage appearances across the UFC and WEC. His return has been met with criticism from several of his peers, especially given that Cerrone has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs while out of competition.

Eblen was asked about an existing issue with Cerrone and he explained that he doesn’t approve of Cerrone fighting again.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to retire, take a bunch of steroids and then come back and fight again,” Eblen said, speaking to the media at the PFL Battle of the Giants on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “It’s not a good look. I think Conor [McGregor] paved the way, I think he’s influencing a lot of other people to do it, and I think people are trying to fight past their prime and use all these substances and it’s just not natural, it’s not good.

“Your brain doesn’t heal from steroids. So all that CTE just adds up. I’m very against steroids, I’m very against people fighting past their prime.”

Cerrone turned 41 this past March. It is not yet known if the UFC will accept his request to step into the octagon again, but UFC CEO Dana White shared his opinion on the matter saying, “Love him, hate that.”

As far as Conor McGregor goes, while the former two-division champion has noticeably bulked up at various points during his break from competition dating back to July 2021, he has never officially failed a drug test. After injuring his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, McGregor was subsequently removed from the drug-testing pool until he began being tested again in October 2023.