Conor McGregor will make his UFC return against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Dana White, the president of the organization, revealed this news a moment ago, saying that these two fighters will meet on January 18, in Las Vegas.
“Conor has signed and Cowboy is ready to go,” White told ESPN.
This is going to be the long-awaited return of one of the most controversial fighters in the MMA, who no doubt increased the popularity of this sport. McGregor has been the most recognizable face of the UFC in the recent decade, and his comeback already made an earthquake among the fans
The Notorious and the Cowboys will meet in the welterweight category (170 pounds), and that will be his third appearance in that division. He has a split record, as he fought Nate Diaz in that two epic fights. The first ended with Diaz’s submission win, while the second went in McGregor’s favor via majority decision.
"We're not here to take part, we're here to take over!"@TheNotoriousMMA's journey has been a wild one … and it gets a new chapter in January 🍿 (via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/M5rXbxo4uo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2019
White stated that both fighters signed a contract for this event and that their fight will be the headliner for the UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena. According to the sources from the UFC, it is expected for this event to have a strong lineup, and that it might be one of the most profitable pay-per-views in the last few years.
McGregor’s comeback was announced a long time ago, but the Irishman didn’t want to hurry, and he waited for the right moment to jump back in. The crowd was missing their favorite villain, and it appears that the Notorious’ marketing team did an excellent job in preparing the terrain for his exit from retirement.
His last fight took place in October 2018, against Kahbib Nurmagomedov at the UFC 229. Back then the Russian defeated the rival via submission and caused hell to break loose with his outburst following the event. After that, the Dublin-Native fought with Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition boxing spectacle and lost that also.
At the moment, he has 21 wins and 4 defeats, and despite being absent from the octagon so long, the Irishman is still the most popular guy in the organization.
Conor McGregor will return to the octagon against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on Jan. 18. It will be the first fight between McGregor and Cowboy.
Both are known for their finishing prowess, combining for 46 in their careers. pic.twitter.com/jTDRyjI5BV
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 28, 2019
On the other hand, stands one of the most respected and beloved fighters, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. At 36 years of age, he has a couple of more big fights in his hands, and one of them is just coming up. Cerrone’s record in MMA is 36-13, and he is the guy with the most wins (23) and finishes (16) in the UFC history.
Though, the last two fights he had ended with losses. He would first suffer a defeat against Tony Ferguson when doctors didn’t allow him to come back into the ring and stopped the fight at the end of the second round. After that, Justin Gaethje knocked out Cerrone in the first round of their fight in Vancouver.
McGregor sees Cowboy as a warm up for his next fights, which will culminate with a rematch against Nurmagomedov. At least, that is Conor’s plan. On the other hand, the undefeated champion isn’t very keen on giving his big rival another chance, and at the moment, he ruled out all the speculations about their next fight. He stated that McGregor needs to win a couple of matches before in order for him to even reconsider a possible rematch.
But that is all a long shot. Right now the only thing that matters is January 18 and McGregor vs. Cerrone fight.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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