There was a lot to dissect in the wake of Conor McGregor’s violent win over Donald Cerrone in the UFC 246 main event last weekend in Las Vegas, but one of the big talking points was the shoulder strikes “Notorious” used to break “Cowboy” en route to the technical knockout finish.
Even Cerrone was surprised.
“I’d never seen anything like that,” Cerrone said in his post-fight interview. “They threw me way off guard, he busted my nose, it started bleeding, then he stepped back and head-kicked me. I was like, ‘Oh man, this is happening this fast?’ I got my ass whipped early.”
While it was seemingly a new wrinkle to the Irishman’s MMA game, footage recently surfaced showing a younger McGregor uncorking shoulder strikes against former teammate and ex-UFC fighter, Cathal Pendred, during their undated sparring video.
“You know they say I’ve just got a left hand,” McGregor said at the UFC 246 post-fight press conference. “They’ll have to say I’ve just got a left shoulder as well. It’s a good shot in the clinch. You can really catch a man. I know I caught him the first one off guard, and I caught him with one or two more and when we separated, the nose and the eye were busted.”
Cerrone is facing a six-month medical suspension as a result.