Cowboy Cerrone’s stunning home-made BMF ranch in the desert where he trains to face McGregor at UFC 246
DONALD ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is dubbed the craziest fighter in UFC – and his home-built ranch in the New Mexico desert proves it.
‘Cowboy’ has been putting in the hours of hard training for his UFC 246 showdown with Conor McGregor at his 40-acre training complex which is unlike anywhere else.
He calls it his BMF ranch.
says: “We don’t Breed livestock we Train Bad Mother F*****s”.
For the last 10 years, since his late grandfather Dr Donald Cerrone bought it for him, ‘Cowboy’ and his entourage have built up an incredible home-made training HQ.
Cerrone said: “I moved here from Colorado, and started looking for a property where I could ride bikes, horses, shoot guns.
“I called my grandpa and said, ‘I found a house and some acres I think I want to buy.’ He said, ‘I’ll be right there.’
“He drove down, and he walks right up to the lady and says, ‘My grandson wants it. We’ll take it.’
“He handed her cash. Didn’t even go inside. I was like, ‘S*** OK.’ None of this was here. We’ve built everything.”
The ranch outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a cowboy’s paradise.
Like any good old-fashioned western movie, the walls of his ranch are decorated with mounted antlers and horseshoes.
The training room itself has its own UFC-style octagon.
Treadmills, heavy bags and climbing ropes all feature in the well-equipped training facility.
Unlike a traditional cowboy ranch, the UFC veteran’s stomping ground features unique UFC memorabilia and MMA artwork that depicts Cerrone in some of his finest moments.
When the fighters need to unwind after a long sparring session, the ranch is kitted out with a that seats 20 at a time, an ice bath and a hot tub to maximise fighter recovery.
The outside space is occupied with animal enclosures and a lonely tyre or beer bottle dots the far-reaching shrubland.
At the BMF ranch, Cerrone trades MMA fighting for a new type of battle in his purpose-built paintball arena.
It even comes with a softplay area for his young son – who is called Danger.
The outdoor battlefield is a new addition to the complex, replacing an old dirt bike course.
The paintball area was made during one weekend with teammates using a disused motorbike and random trash to serve as props.
Wakeboarding on the lakes and mountain biking are just two of many ways the fighter spends time letting off steam.
Accompanied by his MMA crew, they will snowmobile ride at Wolf Creek Pass or find a new adventure in the rural landscape.
His out-buildings are stacked with items to fuel his action man lifestyle.
That includes everything from dirt bikes, air bottles, building tools, and no ranch would be complete without a healthy supply of beer and spirits.
Cerrone also slaughters his livestock for food or hunts wild elk.
His training partners and coaches come to live at the ranch and all pitch into the daily grind that keeps the ranch moving.
The purpose-built dormitories were made to accommodate young hopeful fighters who pay £100 a week to stay six to eight weeks at a time.
It’s not unusual to see sparring partner Alejandro ‘Pato’ Martinez filling water tubs or his Muay Thai coach Pedro Camberos separating pigs from the buffalo in the outside paddocks.
And there will be more to come soon.
Living up to his billing as the ultimate cowboy, Cerrone’s next venture is a roping arena on the property which will be used to train his horses.
