The best and worst from UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy
He’s back! After well over a year on the shelf following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Irish superstar Conor McGregor made his return to UFC action last night, stopping Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone after just 40 seconds of their Welterweight bout in the main event of UFC 246.
The show was an up-and-down effort overall, with some good – and some bad – fights on the undercard, building to what turned out to be a bit of an oxymoron in the main event; an entertaining anticlimax.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy.
#1 Best: McGregor’s performance opens doors for the UFC
There were a ton of questions around Conor McGregor coming into last night’s showdown with Donald Cerrone, despite the Irishman appearing to be in phenomenal shape for the fight. Well, ‘The Notorious One’ answered them with one of the best showings of his UFC career, taking out ‘Cowboy’ in just 40 seconds with a barrage of strikes.
A big left hand missed for McGregor early on, but when he smashed Cerrone with a series of shoulder strikes from inside the clinch, it was quickly apparent who had the advantage. Seconds later, the Irishman nailed ‘Cowboy’ with a left head kick, wobbled him badly, and then sealed the deal with a series of punches that folded the veteran against the fence.
Love him or hate him, it was hard not to admire such a tremendous showing from McGregor – even if this was far from the best version of Cerrone we’ve seen. And best of all, the win opens some doors to some huge matches for the UFC; McGregor has his flaws, but nobody else in the sport brings the ‘big event’ feel to a UFC show that he does, and should the promotion book him with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jorge Masvidal, Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz next, millions will be watching. And that’s only a good thing.