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“He has struggled a little bit with southpaws and there’s no better southpaw in the world than Conor. I think we can land shots on him and that’s what I’m most excited about.”
If there was ever a chink in Donald Cerrone’s armor, it’s probably his defensive boxing.
‘Cowboy’ has fantastic kicks, knees and elbows, but the UFC veteran has struggled against boxers in the past, losing fights to Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal and Robbie Lawler to name but a few.
The 36-year-old will be going up against arguably the best boxer in the UFC in his next fight, as Cerrone will take on Conor McGregor in the UFC 246 main event on Jan. 18.
McGregor’s longtime striking coach, Owen Roddy, is well aware of the holes in Cerrone’s game and, while he respects Cowboy as a fighter, the Irishman is supremely confident in McGregor’s ability to exploit those holes at UFC 246.
“I like the Cerrone fight, but he’s very talented,” Roddy told MMA Fighting’s Peter Carroll on a recent episode of Eurobash.
“It’s only when you start looking at all of his fights and the tools that he has — he’s got weapons, he’s got lots of weapons and he’s good everywhere, he’ll mix it up. Yeah, he’s a very talented fighter, but like everyone he has holes in his game. He has struggled a little bit with southpaws and there’s no better southpaw in the world than Conor. I think we can land shots on him and that’s what I’m most excited about.”
Roddy, who trains ‘The Notorious’ out of SBG Ireland in Dublin, believes UFC 246 is one of the most exciting PPV’s of year and expects both men to put on a show for the fans next month.
“Once things start to build [the fight will be big], the fight has only been officially announced a couple of weeks ago, so it’s building nicely. When it starts getting into the New Year, three or four weeks out it’s just going to explode. Cerrone and Conor, the matchup is perfect. Their mentalities, their attitudes…their attitudes towards fighting…I think it’s going to build for an exciting fight and exciting build-up to a fight.”
UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cerrone takes place next year, January 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.