Even when they’re simply enjoying the community horseshoe pit or making a friendly wager on the putting green with the rest of the visitors, Donald Cerrone and his friends stick out at Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight, along with three friends and members of his fight team, are a bit of an oddity in a campground largely occupied by snowbirds and travelers with families.
“It’s like a senior citizen community,” Cerrone said with a laugh. “One lady told us, ‘You guys might want to try the (RV park) down there by Circus Circus. It’s a rowdier crowd.’ ”
Cerrone will have plenty of time to get rowdy when he steps into the cage to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 141 at the MGM Grand Garden. For the week leading up to the bout, he is just fine in the laid-back surroundings of the quiet campground on Blue Diamond Road, just west of Las Vegas Boulevard South.
For fights within driving distance of his ranch in Albuquerque, N.M., Cerrone eschews the airplane ticket and fancy hotel room provided by the UFC. Instead, he latches his trailer to the back of his truck and sets up a little home away from home for the final week of training camp. This week marks the third time Cerrone has set up camp in his RV.
“It’s such a homey feel,” he said. “It’s real comfortable for us just to tow it out here and stay and sleep in a bed I’m used to. We’ve got a fridge and full kitchen and everything we need right here. Plus, I pull my vehicle right up here and I can drive wherever I want. I don’t have to worry about getting my car out of valet. I don’t have to worry about all of the people down in the lobby. It’s almost like you’re not in Vegas, you’re just hanging out.”
Not that life around the Oasis doesn’t get a little wild. Cerrone and his friends donned pirate costumes and attended a Halloween party in the clubhouse when he stayed there for his fight in October against Dennis Siver. There was a Christmas karaoke bash this week on the night after they arrived in town.
Then on Wednesday, the group made the short drive over to the outlet malls to do a little shopping.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m stressed. I didn’t sleep very much last night just because there’s a lot going on the last few days before a fight,” Cerrone said. “You can try to not think about it as much as you can, but you do. You’ve got to walk around, do something, get your mind off it.”
Staying in the trailer helps in that regard.
“Being here, it’s more comfortable for everybody. Everything is more mellow. We don’t have to fight through the crowds to do something,” said Mike Valle, Cerrone’s striking coach and one of the trailer’s temporary residents. “Back home, we live on the ranch and we have our luxuries there, but that’s the last thing on our list. We don’t need to go stay in a suite or eat in fancy restaurants. We buy our own food and this is where we eat. It’s cool, man. We enjoy it a lot.”
