The biggest name in the UFC is back. Connor McGregor returned to the octagon with a fantastic win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The Irish fighter knocked out his rival, only 40 seconds since the fight started. To be more precise, the judge in the ring stopped the bout during Connor’s fury of punches.
“I feel really good. But I came out of here unscathed. I’m in shape. We’ve got work to do to get back to where I was,” he said after the match.
Connor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) came flying into this match, immediately starting to send strikes towards Cerrone (36-14 MMA, 23-11 UFC), who didn’t know what hit him. The American dodged one punch but was punished with Connor’s left leg while ducking.
He would then try to find safety in the clinch but made a big mistake. The Notorious used his shoulder to inflict several big-time hits directly to Cowboy’s face, one of them in the nose.
“I never seen anything like it,” Cerrone explained his confusion with this strategy. “He caught me way off guard, busted my nose, started bleeding, and stepped back, and head kicked me.”
Soon after this situation, Connor’s left high kick stunned the veteran, and broke his stance. Cerrone would fall to the ground, and McGregor went after him decided to solve the match as soon as possible, which he did.
There were so many punches landing on the American’s head that the referee had to intervein. The crowd at the T-Mobile arena went wild, and the chants with Connor’s name in them began overwhelming the building.
Right following the event, while giving the interview to Joe Rogan, Connor began calling out his opponents, saying that he feels ready for any of them.
“Any one of these fools can get it,” McGregor said. “All of them. Every single one. It does not matter.”
Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal were in the audience, but they didn’t look too frightened with the call, especially Usman, who was mimicking that he might fall asleep.
This is just the first step for Connor on his long way towards the title. That is his goal, stated on so many occasions. But to do that, he will have to beat several much tougher opponents than Cerrone, who is way past his prime.
According to some, this was why the Irishman decided to fight Cowboy in the first place, as there wasn’t any danger from the 36-year old. Other possible opponents are in much better shape, and McGregor didn’t want to risk a defeat right at the start of his comeback.
The bout against Khabib is already in plans, but the Russian stated that he doesn’t want even to consider meeting Connor before he wins some big fights. Justin Gaethje is one of the most realistic options in the future, same as Jorge Masvidal, who already revealed that he wants to face Connor but only if the money is right.
So there will be plenty of interesting news about Connor’s future in the next few days.
