Conor McGregor's long-awaited return to the octagon will take place at the UFC 246 tournament, which will be held January 18 in Las Vegas. Earlier, the Irishman himself had already announced the date of the next match, and Donald Cerrone said that he could become his rival. However, at the end of November, this information was officially confirmed by the promotion president Dana White. The functionary said that the battle between the Irish and the American will lead the first major show in 2020.
Rumors about a possible duel between McGregor and Cerrone went back in early 2019. After Cowboy's triumphant return to lightweight, the fighters held a dialogue on social networks, following which they announced their desire to meet in a cage. Apparently, the organization’s leadership was not opposed, but the ex-champion in two weight categories suddenly announced his retirement. True, a few days later he renewed it again, but by this moment Donald had already managed to find a new opponent.
Subsequently, McGregor injured his hand and was eliminated indefinitely, and Cerrone managed to hold three fights. True, only one of them ended in his favor. So, he dealt with the ex-contender for the title Al Yakvinta, but then prematurely lost to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gatzhi.
On paper, Donald can safely be considered one of the most convenient opponents for Conor. After the defeats of Floyd Mayweather and Khabib Nurmagomedov, he needs to feel confident and have at least one fight with an opponent that is stylistically appropriate to him and is not in the best shape. The American ideally meets all of these criteria, because he prefers to fight in a stance, and also not only has a series of two failures in the liabilities, but also health problems. In addition to having liver problems due to addiction to alcohol, he lacks part of his intestines and stomach.
Initially, it seemed that McGregor had chosen the safest option, making it as easy as possible for him to return to the octagon. However, later it became known that the main battle of the UFC 246 tournament will take place not in the lightweight but in the welterweight category. This circumstance not only seriously reduced the Irish's chances of success, but also made him think about the reasons for such a decision by the organizers.
Of course, both athletes managed to perform in the category of up to 77 kg during their career. So, Cerrone went to conquer her after the second defeat against Rafael dos Anjus in the title fight in 2015, but did not succeed. In ten fights, he won six times, but this was not enough to seriously advance in the ranking. So, he defeated mostly middle opponents or those who managed to drop out of the top fighters. Among them are the former first contender for the middleweight belt, Patrick Cote and Matt Brown. However, he lost to Robbie Lawler, Darren Till, Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards.
As for McGregor, he fought welterweight twice and both times with Nate Diaz. In March 2016, the Irishman in the status of the current champion in the featherweight category rose two divisions above and suffered a deafening fiasco. The difference in mass affected the athlete's actions so much that during the second round he was completely exhausted and allowed his vis-a-vis to first be noted for a number of powerful hits, and then hold a strangulation from behind. In August, Conor was more prepared and took revenge, but that performance can hardly be called dominant. The battle lasted all five rounds, according to the results of which two judges gave him the victory with a minimum score, and the third completely determined a draw.
In light of this, McGregor's next welterweight performance seems very reckless. Especially considering the fact that Cerrone, who is more physically fit for this category, will confront him. So, an American is eight centimeters taller than a vis-a-vis (183 cm versus 175 cm), and in the span of his arms is only three centimeters behind. It is worth considering that the Cowboy has always been famous for his kickboxing skills and has repeatedly knocked out rivals with his feet. So, Adriano Martins, Jim Miller and the same Brown suffered from his high-kicks.
In lightweight, the Irishman, if he had no superiority over the American in endurance and physics, then the welterweight would probably be inferior. McGregor will not have time to gain seven kilograms due to muscles, as a result of which he will not become stronger, but only heavier. This will inevitably affect his endurance, which was perfectly noticeable in duels with Diaz.
The reason for this welterweight fight remains a mystery. But, given the status of McGregor and not the busiest schedule for both, it is worth believing that it was the ex-champion who initiated this decision. The American fights stably three or four times a year and keeps himself in good shape, which is why he could hardly ask for the transfer of the fight to an adjacent category. Especially considering the fact that the last time he entered the cage in mid-September and had enough time to drive.
Consequently, either McGregor felt that he could not meet the lightweight limit, or the organization of the battle within the welterweight division was part of his plan. The second option looks much more logical. Especially taking into account the fact that during his career he never experienced problems with a weight-gainer, and from 2013 to 2015 he performed in the category of up to 65 kilograms.
In this regard, it can be assumed that McGregor seriously aimed at the transition to the welterweight. But if the rivalry for the title with Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington and Tyrone Woodley seems utopian, then a fight with Masvidal is likely. Currently, Jorge not only owns the “toughest bastard” belt, but is also one of the most popular UFC fighters. This is evidenced by the fact that he was entrusted with leading the 500th tournament in the history of the promotion.
Recently, MacGregor himself has repeatedly expressed a desire to face off with Masvidal. So, he talked about this at a press conference in Moscow, as well as on the social network Twitter. The Irishman commented on the ESPN collage, which depicted his possible opponents, including Jorge. This did not go unnoticed by the American, who urged him to "be responsible for the words," adding that he was "one of a kind."
Nevertheless, if Conor really decided to hold a series of welterweight fights, then this could seriously delay his possible revenge with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Throughout the year, the Irishman did not tire of declaring his desire to fight the champion again, insulting and humiliating not only himself, but also relatives and compatriots. It is enough to recall his rudeness regarding the athlete’s wife, as well as comments on the Dagestanis.
Even if McGregor can succeed in duels with Serrone and Masvidal, this is unlikely to bring him closer to a second meeting with Nurmagomedov. In any case, he will not be able to rise in the lightweight rating and get the title of the first applicant, which guarantees him a chance to compete for the champion title. However, it is possible that the UFC leadership will have enough winning streak in the related category. Earlier, Conor already received the title fight in weight, in which before that he had not fought a single fight.
Perhaps McGregor hopes to first regain the title of the most popular MMA fighter in the world, and then take up Nurmagomedov. But in this case, he may simply not have enough time. Habib has repeatedly said that he intends to conduct two fights and hang gloves on a nail. In the first of them, he will most likely meet with Tony Ferguson in April. Given the mandatory gap between the fights and the training camp, the Irishman and the Russian may not have the same schedule.
It should not be ruled out that McGregor decided to wait until Nurmagomedov finishes his career in order to triumphantly return to light weight. Among the ten strongest fighters of the division, only Khabib is extremely inconvenient for Conor in terms of style, while with the rest he will be able to fight mainly in the stance. The exception may be perhaps Kevin Lee, but he was never famous for endurance, which can be a determining factor.
If Nurmagomedov remains invincible and ends his career as a champion, McGregor may well become one of the participants in the battle for the vacant belt. Ferguson is unlikely to have time to recover from defeat and again become the first contender, as a result of which other fighters will come to the fore. It is possible that one of them could be Dustin Porrier. The American has long spoken about the desire to take revenge from the Irish for the fiasco of 2014.