Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ben Askren believes Conor McGregor will return to top form at UFC 246.
We’re just a few hours away from UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Conor McGregor will make his long awaited return to the cage against Donald Cerrone in the main event.
Some fighters have picked ‘Cowboy’ for the upset, with former UFC title challenger turned ESPN analyst Chael Sonnen claiming Cerrone will have the advantage over McGregor at 170. But former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren, who retired after his submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 162, believes ‘The Notorious’ will return to the UFC in top form and TKO Cerrone in the second round.
“I predicted (Conor McGregor) second round TKO, I believe,” Askren told Submission Radio in a recent interview (h/t Abhinavi Kini of Low Kick MMA). “I mean Cerrone’s gotten finished in his last two fights. It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of Conor emerges.
“We haven’t seen him in 16 months, and before that it was another, I mean, (in) MMA, a long, long time. So, it’d be interesting to see what we see out of him.”
McGregor hasn’t fought since his submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, while Cerrone will look to spring back in the winners column following his knockout loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Fight Night 158.
UFC 246 will take place later tonight, Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.