Conor McGregor stops Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in first minute to win UFC 246 headliner

After 15 months away from MMA, and more than three years removed from his most recent win, Conor McGregor returned Saturday in a big way.

The former UFC dual champion took out the promotion’s all-time wins leader in just 40 seconds in the UFC 246 main event in Las Vegas. McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) stopped Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (36-14 MMA, 23-11 UFC) with a TKO to put himself right back into title contention – perhaps in two divisions.

McGregor charged forward in a hurry and missed with a left hand. But a knee grazed Cerrone, and then a pair of shoulders thrown by McGregor may have broken Cerrone’s nose straight away.

McGregor broke away and a few seconds later landed a head kick. The kick wobbled Cerrone, and after he hit the canvas from a few McGregor punches, McGregor delivered more until referee Herb Dean mercifully stepped in to shut things down, setting off a frenzy from the Irish fans in attendance at T-Mobile Arena.

“I changed levels and came up into it – it was a good shot,” McGregor said. “I made history here tonight. I’m the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockouts (in three divisions) at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.”

HE. IS. BACK.

?? @TheNotoriousMMA CLOSES THE SHOW EARLY! WOW! #UFC246pic.twitter.com/0B0NXbi6pY

McGregor has expressed interest in another shot at the lightweight title held by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is scheduled to defend that belt in April against Tony Ferguson. But McGregor also could be in line for a big-money fight against recent “BMF” winner Jorge Masvidal if he stays at welterweight – or even could find himself in the title picture at 170 pounds now.

The 31-year-old McGregor was the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time. But he never defended the featherweight or lightweight belts; both were stripped from him.

The Irishman has had trouble away from the cage, though. He was arrested in 2018 for an incident in which he threw a hand truck at a bus carrying UFC 223 fighters, including eventual opponent Nurmagomedov. After Nurmagomedov submitted him at UFC 229 later that year, he touched off a brawl with McGregor’s corner. 

In 2019, McGregor was arrested in Miami Beach for taking a man’s phone, smashing it and walking away with it. A few months later, he punched a man in a pub in Dublin and was caught on camera. And there have been a pair of published reports in the New York Times that he is under investigation in Ireland for two separate alleged sexual assaults.

While much of that was part of the UFC’s promotional back story for the fight against Cerrone, it was largely forgotten once McGregor stepped into the cage. And once he was in there and the pre-fight hype had died down and it was time to ring the bell, it didn’t take McGregor long to become known for his fighting once again.

Source: Read Full Article