Conor McGregor needed only 40 seconds to defeat Donald Cerrone in his eagerly anticipated UFC return in Las Vegas.
McGregor, fighting for the first time in 15 months at UFC 246 at the T-Mobile Arena, bloodied Cerrone’s nose in the opening few seconds of their welterweight bout with a couple of unorthodox shoulder strikes.
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McGregor then stepped back and a head kick high over the guard landed square on the jaw of Cerrone, who fell to the floor and was left covering up as the Irishman rained down punches, prompting an early stoppage. Follow live reaction below:
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Even Jose Aldo landed a punch on Conor in their 13-second bout in 2015.
Cerrone didn’t come close to touching Conor tonight.
McGregor says he’ll be back before summer and that he’s not sure if it will be at 170 lbs. He doesn’t care who the opponent is.
The manner of the win means McGregor is the first man in UFC history to earn stoppage wins at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.
McGregor to Ariel Helwani: “We are all equal. I was committed this camp and I earned it.
“Fighting is an emotional game, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions.”
*Uncle Chael, apologies
Former British UFC champion Michael Bisping is full of praise for McGregor’s performance, as is former title challenger Chael Sonnen.
If McGregor is going to produce performances like that, we can only hope that his aim of activity in 2020 is achieved.
One of McGregor’s biggest fans:
Where does that rank among McGregor’s best performances ever? He steamrolled Cerrone. But the dismantling of Eddie Alvarez in the pair’s lightweight title fight may still eclipse tonight’s effort. That’s not to mention the 13-second starching of Jose Aldo.
What about welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, down the line?
Jorge Masvidal surely has to be next for McGregor. The money that contest would generate is difficult to comprehend.
McGregor embraces Cowboy’s grandma.
He says he’ll keep fighting. “I don’t care, this is what I love.”
“He got me right away,” Cowboy says, before being embraced by his grandma.
Fight preview
When is UFC 246?
UFC 246 takes place on Saturday 18 January 2020.
The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
McGregor vs Cerrone is expected to start around 5am GMT.
What TV channel is it on?
The fight will be shown live on BT Sport Box Office.
How do I watch it and how much does it cost?
The fight will cost £19.95 from BT Sport Box Office.
You do not need a BT Sport subscription to purchase the fight.
More details on how to purchase the fight are available here.
Will I be able to stream the fight online?
You will be able to watch the fight on mobile devices using the BT Sport app.
What weight is the main event at?
McGregor vs Cerrone will be a welterweight contest.
What is the full UFC 246 card?
Main Card
- Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone
- Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington
- Aleksei Oleinik vs Maurice Greene
- Claudia Gadelha vs Alexa Grasso
- Anthony Pettis vs Carlos Diego Ferreira
Preliminary Card
- Roxanne Modafferi vs Maycee Barber
- Andre Fili vs Sodiq Yusuff
- Drew Dober vs Nasrat Haqparast
Early Preliminary Card
- Chas Skelly vs Grant Dawson
- Aleksa Camur vs Justin Ledet
- Tim Elliott vs Askar Askarov
- Brian Kelleher vs Ode Osbourne
- Sabina Mazo vs JJ Aldrich
What are the fight odds?
- McGregor to win: 2/5
- McGregor by KO, TKO, submission or DQ: 12/25
- McGregor by decision: 8/1
- Cerrone to win: 2/1
- Cerrone by KO, TKO, submission or DQ: 7/1
- Cerrone by decision: 8/1
- Draw or technical draw: 80/1
What are the current UFC lightweight rankings?
Champion: Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Tony Ferguson
- Dustin Poirier
- Justin Gaethje
- Conor McGregor
- Donald Cerrone
- Paul Felder
- Dan Hooker
- Kevin Lee
- Al Iaquinta
- Edson Barboza
- Anthony Pettis
- Gregor Gillespie
- Charles Oliveira
- Alexander Hernandez
- Islam Makhachev
What is the latest news?
Conor McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, has said that the Irishman is in the best shape of his career ahead of his comeback bout against American veteran Donald Cerrone.
McGregor has now finished his pre-fight sparring and will travel to Las Vegas this week ahead of the January 18 fight.
“Jan 1st, last heavy spar today before going to Vegas,” Kavanagh wrote on Twitter.
“Can honestly say this is the best I’ve seen him and I wasn’t sure that was possible to do 6 months ago. You guys are in for a real treat, I’m just glad to have a good seat!”
