Conor McGregor kneels in the octagon after he beats Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the first round of their welterweight bout during UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020.
Published Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 | 10:14 p.m.
Conor McGregor was a new man in the lead-up to his UFC 246 main event bout against Donald Cerrone, leaving behind his usual brashness for a humbler demeanor. Nothing changed from the old days once McGregor got into the octagon though.
It was the same old McGregor Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. For the eighth time in his UFC career, McGregor secured a knockout victory — finishing Cerrone via head kick and ensuing strikes 40 seconds into the first round.
“I made history tonight,” McGregor yelled over a roaring, sold-out crowd while still in the octagon. “I’m the first UFC fighter to have knockouts at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.”
Many found it surprising that McGregor opted to face the bigger Cerrone at the 170-pound weight class. McGregor may have just been hiding the reason and waiting to share it until after the win.
He repeatedly mentioned holding knockouts at three different weight classes with the Irish flag wrapped around his shoulders and his family celebrating around him.
“The UFC can strip titles and give all these fake titles but they can’t take knockout victories across divisions,” McGregor said. “Who else is doing that?”
The win was McGregor’s first in the octagon since November 2017, a lightweight championship victory over Eddie Alvarez. His belt was later stripped for inactivity as he crossed into boxing to face Floyd Mayweather.
There was a question over whether the 31-year-old would ever be the same in mixed martial arts but UFC 246 indicated he might be.
He swung a haymaker at Cerrone out of the opening bell — reminiscent to the one he infamously used to finish Jose Aldo in 13 seconds in December 2015 — but the veteran ducked under and clinched. McGregor was unbothered.
He began firing his shoulder into Cerrone’s jaw. The unorthodox move hurt Cerrone immediately.
“I had never seen anything like that,” Cerrone said. “He threw me way off guard. I was like, ‘this happened this fast? I got my ass whooped this early.’”
McGregor will have many options for his next fight, including both welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. But he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it immediately after the win.
He wanted to tout his after party instead and his Proper Twelve whiskey brand after he said he abstained for alcohol for months to prepare for Cerrone.
McGregor’s finish wasn’t the only one on the main card. Heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik, bantamweight Brian Kelleher and lightweight Diego Ferriera all notched submissions.
Kelleher was the only other fighter to secure it in the first round, as he used a guillotine choke to stop Ode Osbourne 2:49 into the bout. Ferriera beat former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis via neck crank at 1:46 of the second round, while Oleinik armbarred Maurice Greene at 4:38 of the second round.
In the co-main event, former champion Holly Holm defeated Raquel Pennington by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). That meant the fight lasted more than 20 times longer than McGregor vs. Cerrone.
The win was the second fastest of McGregor’s career.
Check the bottom of the page for full results from the preliminary card and come back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage.
Pre-main card
A number of cowboy hats and American flag-bearing apparel dotted the roughly 30-yard queue forming from the front of T-Mobile Arena shortly before doors opened for tonight’s UFC 246.
Conor McGregor might be the main draw and favorite in the first pay-per-view main event of 2020, but opponent Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is no slouch in either regard. Cerrone has become a fan favorite by virtue of being the most prolific fighter in UFC history, and his chances to upset McGregor shouldn’t be understated.
They aren’t being understated by some big-money bettors, at least not in the last few days. Action on Cerrone has pushed the line on the UFC 246 main event down to as low as minus-300 (risking $3 to win $1) in favor of McGregor. It sat as high as minus-350 earlier in the week.
McGregor’s resume reads better than Cerrone’s well beyond the obvious fact that the Irishman has held a pair of titles — in the lightweight and featherweight divisions — but there are advantages in the blue corner too. McGregor opted to contest this bout at welterweight, a curious choice for his first mixed martial arts fight in more than a year.
Cerrone is already bigger than McGregor and now gets the added benefit of fighting at a weight class more familiar to him. He recently moved back to lightweight but that was only after a two-year, 10-fight run in the 170-pound division.
McGregor has only fought twice at welterweight, in his pair of contests against Nate Diaz.
A couple factors could work in Cerrone’s favor from a matchup perspective too. He’s the more technical fighter on the feet and the more versed in the ground game.
At its best, Cerrone’s kickboxing wouldn’t look out of his place in a textbook or instruction video. And many have speculated that grappling is where he has a real advantage, though Cerrone has fought against that idea and given all indications that he wants to stand and trade with McGregor.
That could be a mistake, because even though McGregor hasn’t won a fight in more than three years, he’s got the power to affect anyone. He has seven knockouts inside the first two rounds in 11 career UFC fights.
The arena will likely be behind him as well — it just won’t necessarily be as lopsided as many would expect. Elsewhere on the main card, former Cerrone opponent Anthony Pettis faces Carlos Diego Ferriera in a lightweight bout sure to produce fireworks.
That’s in the opener, warming the octagon for bantamweights Brian Kelleher and Ode Osbourne and then heavyweights Aleksei Oleinik and Maurice Greene. In the co-main event, former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm take on former top contender Raquel Pennington.
Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for round-by-round coverage of the main card and look below for full results from the preliminaries.
Roxanne Modafferi shocked Maycee Barber, winning their women's flyweight bout by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26). Modafferi took down and pounded the previously-undefeated Barber, who appeared to suffer a knee injury, in every round.
Featherweight Sodiq Yusuff was one of a number of prospects who took a step forward on the undercard. Yusuff's win was a bit closer than his contemporaries, however, as he edged Andre Fili by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in an action-packed featherweight bout.
In a standout bout of the preliminary card, Askar Askarov outlasted Tim Elliott in a flyweight battle. The up-and-coming Askarov stayed undefeated by beating Elliott by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a high-energy slugfest.
Drew Dober silenced the mounting hype on lightweight prospect Nasrat Haqparast. Dober knocked Haqparast out cold with a left hand at 1:10 of the first round.
Aleksa Camur defeated Justin Ledet by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a light heavyweight bout.
Sabina Maso beat JJ Aldrich by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) in a women's flyweight bout.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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