Conor McGregor makes promises to fans ahead of UFC 246 showdown with Donald Cerrone
Conor McGregor will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship this weekend.
Conor McGregor has vowed to put on a magical performance in his showdown with Donald Cerrone this weekend. The UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight champion will be welcomed back to the Octagon by ‘Cowboy’ early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 246.
McGregor’s long-awaited meeting Cerrone - which has been over four years in the making - will surprisingly take place in the welterweight division.
Come fight night, it will have been over 15 months since McGregor last set foot inside the cage - his last fight being his UFC 229 grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Irishman is hoping to return to his active ways in 2020 - which played a massive role in endearing him to fans during his historic rise to the pinnacle of the sport - and has set his sights on fighting three times this year.
And he hopes to get the ball rolling with a stellar performance against Cerrone.
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I’m going to create magic inside the Octagon, like I have done many times before
“I’m happy to come back and have my comeback fight in the beginning of my season against Donald, and I look forward to it,” McGregor said during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN. “It’s going to be a good night, and I’m going to shine here on Jan. 18.
“I’m going to create magic inside the Octagon, like I have done many times before. But this time it’s going to be something special.”
Although his comeback fight will be taking in the welterweight division, McGregor insists he still has unfinished business at lightweight.
He said: “No, I’m not done at 155. No way.
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“I could make 155 for this fight, no problem. But I just want to go in fresh and ‘as it is’. Let the fight play as it is, and then open up all of my options.”
Unlike Nurmagomedov - whom he still has a long-standing feud with - McGregor has the utmost respect for Cerrone.
“Me and Donald have a history,” McGregor said when asked why he’s fighting the former lightweight title challenger. “Not a long history, but we’ve had a history.
“It’s an exciting bout. It’s a fan-friendly bout. It’s a fight that excites me.
“I appreciate Donald, I have to say. He’s fought a lot of times since the last time I saw him, at the Aldo press conference many, many years ago.
“He’s gone on and fought so many times. He’s also a family man, with his grandmother and these things. I appreciate that.
“And I also appreciate his method he went about it, with the Proper whiskey.
“So much work goes into these things – to see that bit of respect, I appreciate that. I look forward to having a good bout.”
UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone fight card
Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone - lightweight bout
Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington - men’s bantamweight bout
Maurice Greene vs Aleksei Oleinik - heavyweight bout
Claudia Gadelha vs Alexa Grasso - women’s strawweight bout
Diego Ferreira vs Anthony Pettis - lightweight bout
Prelims
Maycee Barber vs Roxanne Modafferi - women’s flyweight bout
Andre Fili vs Sodiq Yusuff - men’s featherweight bout
Drew Dober vs Nasrat Haqparast - lightweight bout
Grant Dawson vs Chas Skelly - men’s featherweight bout
JJ Aldrich vs Sabina Mazo - women’s flyweight bout
Askar Askarov vs Tim Elliott - men’s flyweight bout
Brian Kelleher vs Ode Osbourne - men’s bantamweight bout
Aleksa Camur vs Justin Ledet - light-heavyweight bout