UFC 246: Conor McGregor Vs. Donald Cerrone In-Depth Breakdown
Who will win the main event between two of the sport's most dangerous finishers?
The first big pay-per-view of the year features the much-anticipated main event bout between former UFC 155lb and 145lb champion, Conor McGregor, and MMA veteran and fan-favourite, Donald Cerrone. It truly is a wonderful match-up between two extremely talented and dangerous mixed martial artists.
The most exciting part about this battle is that there are an abundance of different variables which could have a serious impact on how the fight plays out. With both men being vicious strikers, who has the edge if the fight stays standing? Also, are we not paying enough attention to the fact that Cerrone is an exceptional submission grappler and how that could be a major factor in the fight? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and you'll find them right here.
We'll be taking a look at all these things and more in our extensive breakdown of the fight. Now that the introductions are over, it's time to get down to the finer details of what makes the first main event of the new year such a blockbuster of a contest.
5. Background
Rumours regarding who would take on Conor McGregor in his comeback fight to the Octagon have been rife ever since the Irishman announced his return to active competition. While names like Justin Gaethje, Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier were thrown out there, the name that seemed to have some real traction behind it was Donald Cerrone.
Although McGregor has spent most of his UFC career at featherweight, his constant flirtations with a move up to 155lb meant that there was always a chance that the two would go toe-to-toe someday. Although many believed that The Notorious would return at lightweight, he and Cerrone will actually fight at 170lb.
Considering McGregor won't have to battle an extreme weight cut and some of Cowboy's best work in the latter stages of his career have come at welterweight, there are a lot of positives to come from this fight taking place in this weight class.
A win for Conor opens up a lot of possible match-ups, none more so than a potential rematch with arch-nemesis, Khabib Nurmagomedov, down the line. However, a victory for Cerrone would truly be the feather in the cap of one of the most action-packed MMA careers ever.