4 reasons why Conor McGregor will beat Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 246
We’re just 12 days away now from the UFC's first show of 2020, and it’s a big one; UFC 246 takes place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and will see a main event for the ages, as Irish superstar Conor McGregor returns to take on arguably the most exciting fighter in the sport, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
The fight will be contested at 170lbs – despite both men usually fighting at 155lbs or lower – and it’s a tough one to pick, with both men having clear strengths and weaknesses.
An argument has already been made for why Cerrone will win, so here is a counter-point: 4 reasons why Conor McGregor will beat Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246.
1. McGregor can break him down by attacking the body
Everyone who’s watched Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone fight in the UFC over the last decade will probably know that his biggest weakness is body shots. ‘Cowboy’ has never been able to take them all that well, and it was by attacking the body that the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Anthony Pettis, and Rafael Dos Anjos were able to defeat him by TKO.
McGregor is admittedly not as well-known for his attacks to the body as Pettis, but he is very adept at landing stabbing front kicks to the body – as we saw in his win over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in July 2015. And as a calculating fighter, it’s definitely likely that ‘The Notorious One’ knows all about Cerrone’s weakness to the body and will attack it viciously.
If the Irishman can use his kicks to break Cerrone’s body down, setting up a big shot to the head or a heavy flurry to finish him off, then he can definitely win this fight. And given McGregor surprisingly holds a reach advantage over ‘Cowboy’, then it’s definitely inside the realm of possibility that he can pull it off.