Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The countdown to Conor McGregor’s next fight has officially begun, as the former UFC two-division champion will make his long-awaited return to action against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
McGregor, who signed on to fight Cerrone earlier this week, last stepped foot inside of the Octagon back in October 2018 when he was submitted by undefeated rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. It was McGregor’s first MMA fight since crossing over to boxing and fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a $100 million payday back in 2017.
Having fought once inside of the Octagon in over three years McGregor has much to show entering the upcoming 2020 campaign. Not only is “Notorious” trying to prove that his popularity and success outside of the cage hasn’t hampered his ability to fight, but he’s also trying to claw his way back into title contention at 155 pounds in hopes of landing a rematch with Khabib.
Since we haven’t seen much of McGregor over the past couple of years ESPN MMA was kind enough to release the best fights in the UFC career of the Irishman. The video can be seen in the above player and the fight-by-fight breakdown can be seen below:
- Max Holloway (1:05)
- Dustin Poirier (1:55)
- Dennis Siver (2:44)
- Chad Mendes (4:15)
- Jose Aldo (5:14)
- Nate Diaz (5:57)
- Eddie Alvarez (7:03)
With all the money he’ll ever need McGregor is now free to rebuild his UFC legacy and prove that he’s still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today. After all, he’ll be fighting “Cowboy” at 170 pounds when the two meet this January. That will be the third time McGregor has ever competed at that weight, with the other two coming against Diaz.
With just seven weeks to prepare for his anticipated UFC return, McGregor won’t have a ton of time to gameplan for Cerrone’s blistering Muay Thai and kickboxing game. But as long as Cerrone stands and bangs with “Notorious” on the feet then McGregor will have the opportunity to land his patented left hand and add “Cowboy” to the above highlight reel.