Conor McGregor displayed a new striking technique, using his shoulder to bloody Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s nose, then went on to score a spectacular first-round technical knockout victory in UFC 246 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada today.
McGregor immediately jumped forward at the start of the UFC non-title fight and unloaded a knee to the head which missed Cerrone.
To neutralize McGregor’s superior striking Cerrone predictably clinched. But McGregor then used an attack used regularly only by sneaky basketball centers when jockeying for rebounds.
McGregor hit Cerrone repeatedly on the face with his left shoulder, jumping up several times to add force to his strikes. A hurt Cerrone unlocked his clinch and stepped back with his nose bloodied.
McGregor pressed forward and connected with his left foot with a kick to the head of Cerrone who staggered backward into the cage.
McGregor then wailed into a helpless Cerrone with his fists and the referee mercifully stopped the fight after just 40 seconds in the first round.
With the victory, McGregor improved his career professional record to 22-4 with 19 knockouts. Cerrone, who owns the most wins in UFC history, dropped to 36-14.
This was McGregor’s first fight since a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their UFC Lightweight Championship bout on October 6, 2018.
The impressive victory over Cerrone may have assured him of another crack at the UFC title.
It was the third consecutive technical knockout loss for Cerrone. He also lost to Justin Gaethje by TKO (punches) at UFC Fight Night 158 on September 14, 2019; and to Tony Ferguson by TKO (doctor stoppage) at UFC 238 on June 8, 2019.
McGregor, on the other hand, has been comparatively inactive. His most recent victory came in November 2016 when he beat Eddie Alvarez by knockout.
McGregor is the fourth-ranked lightweight in the UFC and is 13th on the pound-for-pound ratings. Cerrone is ranked fifth among lightweights.
