Return to spite Nurmagomedov: McGregor knocked out Cerrone in 40 seconds at the UFC 246 tournament

Victories of Oleinik and Askarov

As part of the UFC 246 tournament held in Las Vegas, Askar Askarov was the first Russian to enter the octagon. The fight involving the flyweight fighter took place at the preliminary card stage, which was an excellent result for the Dagestan, especially considering the draw outcome of his first fight in the promotion. This was facilitated by the high level of the opponent, which was the seventh number of the Tim Elliott rating. As an American merit, one can mention not only a long stay in the elite of the weight category, but also a fight for the champion title with Demetrius Johnson.

His plan was extremely simple: he expected at all costs to go forward and initiate an exchange of blows, after which he expected to tie his opponent in a clinch and transfer to the ground. The American has always been famous for his Jiu-Jitsu skills, as evidenced by six victories with the help of painful and suffocating techniques. However, this time he did not succeed. Askarov looked utterly stronger in the rack and already in the first round sent Elliott to the knockdown. Tim lowered his hands and began to provoke vis-a-vis for active actions, for which he was instantly punished by a sweeping right straight. Askar rushed to finish, but an experienced wrestler skillfully tied his hands and managed to avoid an early defeat.

The second round was held in the same vein. Elliott clumsily pressed and allowed Askarov to freely hit the head and body, while Askarov confidently worked as the second number. True, in the middle of the round he nevertheless allowed the American to get closer, for which he was punished with two amplitude throws, but he did not allow to extract more from the situation. Former ACB champion acted confidently and calmly, which could not be said about his opponent.

By the middle of the third stretch, Elliott began to run out of patience. He regularly turned to the opponent with a proposal to embark on a reckless exchange of blows, but never received such an opportunity. Askarov confidently “fired” him from an average distance, leaving no options for the judges. At the end of the match, all three referees gave him preference, and two of them saw Askar superiority in all three five-minute periods. The Russian won the first victory in the UFC and with a high degree of probability will enter the top 10 flyweight rating.

Unlike a compatriot, Oleynik fought in the main card. The 12th number of the heavy weight was examined by Maurice Green, who had only three fights in the UFC. It is noteworthy that the only defeat under the auspices of the promotion he suffered in a confrontation with another Russian fighter. In October, he met with Sergei Pavlovich and lasted a little over two minutes.

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For Oleinik, this fight was of great importance, because he could be the last in the UFC for him. At this point, in the liabilities of the Russians there were two early defeats, and another failure could cost him a contract. However, at a key moment, Alexey got together and was able to confirm his right to play in the strongest league in the world.

The Russian fighter is one of the main specialists in pain in the heavy division, which he once again confirmed. Already in the first round he tried to draw a manual triangle, but the American not only confidently defended himself, but also noted a series of dangerous punches from a prone position. At one point, it might have seemed that Oleinik risks being knocked out, but he survived.

The denouement occurred in the second five-minute period. At the cost of a series of missed shots, Oleynik was able to get closer to Green, after which he dragged him to the ground. An attempt to hold a brand-name suffocating Ezekiel was not successful, but it was able to divert the attention of its counterpart. He relaxed his vigilance a little and gave his hand, and Alexei carried out the barn. To the credit of Maurice it is worth recognizing that for a long time he refused to give up, but still was forced to surrender.

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McGregor's Triumphant Return

The battle between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone was doomed to become one of the main events of 2020 in mixed martial arts. Each performance of the Irishman causes a huge stir from the side of MMA lovers, but this time its long absence was the catalyst. Former UFC champion in two weight categories did not appear in the octagon for 15 months, which significantly increased the level of expectation of a fight.

Nevertheless, the main match of the UFC 246 tournament was not just a loud sign, but had to answer several important questions. The first of these was McGregor's ability to compete on equal terms with fighters who greatly exceeded his overall dimensions. Previously, he only met with such an athlete once and did not greatly succeed. In the first battle, he lost to Nate Diaz, and in the return he won only by the decision of the judges.

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Also, this fight was to demonstrate whether the Irishman’s welterweight move was a mistake. In the battles with the same Diaz, he did not look the best, in many respects due to enormous endurance problems. The extra mass not only caused him fatigue much earlier than usual, but also reduced his maneuverability in the cell. However, this time McGregor was not so limited in time and had the opportunity to properly prepare the body for fights in the category up to 77 kg. Apparently, he used this time to good use, which was perfectly noticeable during the weighing procedure. Conor looked much more muscular and fit than in 2016, which allowed him to count on progress.

But one of the most interesting was the question of how good MacGregor was in a duel with an opponent who failed to get into his head. Throughout his career, he was famous for precisely the fact that with the help of trash current, obvious provocations and other aggressive actions, he climbed "under the skin" of his vis-a-vis, forcing him to act unreasonably during the fight. This was best manifested in the actions of Jose Aldo, who was not lucky enough to survive the most severe attacks from the Irish. He literally terrorized him during his world tour and the following long months, because of which the Brazilian lost his temper. At a key moment, he made a gross mistake and was knocked out already at the 13th second.

In addition, it seemed that such conflicts with opponents helped McGregor himself. They allowed him to charge with emotions and enter the cell more focused and motivated. An artificial conflict with the enemy helped him to relax and feel like a master of the situation, but this time he did not have to count on this. In anticipation of the battle with Cerrone, he behaved extremely respectfully and did not try to arrange a confrontation.

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At the same time, it remained unknown what exactly prompted the Irishman to change his behavior. Perhaps the fact that he matured and started a family affected. Perhaps he specifically decided to throw dust in the eyes of Cowboy and show how friendly he is in order to achieve an advantage. Or he lost interest in battles and is no longer ready to do anything for the sake of success. The answer to this question could give only a fight.

Despite the fact that it was McGregor who was the main character, it was impossible to ignore his opponent. Over the years, the Cowboy has confirmed that he is one of the most upscale fighters ever to enter the octagon. This is evidenced by both his striking successes and records. So, Cerrone holds the best result in the number of victories and knockouts under the auspices of the UFC.

Many expected that the fight did not last long, but few believed that the Cowboy would not be able to hold out even for one minute. McGregor practically repeated the move of Jorge Masvydalya in a duel with Ben Askren and immediately rushed to the opposite. The left straight and the knee, although passing casually, nevertheless caused damage to Cerrone, and several consecutive blows with a shoulder broke his nose.

Donald began to retreat and threw away the branded right hi-kick at the exit, but received a response from Conor. The kick of the Irish was many times stronger and almost knocked the opponent down, after which he only had to finish. The American fiercely resisted and tried to survive the assault, but referee Herb Dean decided to stop the fight only 40 seconds after it began.

McGregor won his first victory since November 2016 and loudly announced his full return to the octagon. Such a dominant performance opened up a lot of opportunities for him and may well lead him to a fight for the title. The only question is whether the Irishman wants to fight - with the best welterweight Kamaru Usman or the holder of the belt of the “toughest bastard” Jorge Masvidal.