Conor McGregor wins in epic style on UFC return, Khabib rematch next?

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer21 January 2020
Conor McGregor won in emphatic style against 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone in his return to UFC

Conor McGregor won in emphatic style against 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone in his return to UFC

Conor Mcgregor returns to the Octogon in prolific style.

If you blinked, then you missed McGregor's return to the UFC. The Irishman blasted out 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone inside 40 seconds of the opening bell in his first appearance since a controversial fourth-round defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov 15 months ago.

The 'Notorious' is finally on the road to redemption, something he has craved for some time now after previous convictions outside the cage. In defeating his American opponent, McGregor became the first star to KO fighters at featherweight, lightweight and now welterweight.
"They thought I was toast but I'm still the bread," McGregor said prior to UFC 246. He certainly backed it up by busting Cerrone's nose open before delivering a sweet head kick and unleashing unanswered shots to the head to halt proceedings. It was the perfect comeback for a man desperate to prove himself as 'the man' again.
Lineal boxing champion Tyson Fury was in attendance alongside some potential opponents for McGregor, whom the Irishman himself, sent a stern warning to.

Where does McGregor go next? 
It appears that McGregor is once again hot property with all the superstars calling for his name from the boxing fraternity, including Manny Pacquiao and nemesis Floyd Mayweather. Sean Gibbons, the advisor of Pacquiao, sent out a video welcoming a lucrative clash alongside 'Pacman', telling the UFC superstar if he wanted a 'proper fight' then come see us. MGregor had previously revealed his interest in fighting the eight-division champion in promotion to his latest comeback in Vegas.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, McGregor claimed "Manny, we were actually close to signing Manny (to UFC). "There's been talks about a Manny fight as well. There was an offer made on that. Just not yet. And the Paulie [Malignaggi] fight. "I'd like to box Paulie as well. I already knocked him out but that's a bit of buzz as well. "Paulie and a boxing bout. I want to box again and I will box again. I will get a boxing world title. "I'd like to rematch Floyd. I think we should rematch Floyd. I mean, he's flirting with it. He can go and pick someone else, but it's not gonna be the same. "It was a great, great experience. And, you know, I look forward to doing it again. It's going to happen again."

Mayweather may be in agreement with McGregor after releasing a poster of the pair on Instagram.
However, Floyd being Floyd, he followed it up by teasing a showdown with Khabib so who knows? Either way, there stands a good chance Mayweather will fight one of the two after striking up a deal with UFC President Dana White.

White, meanwhile, admitted he would love to see McGregor face arch-rival Khabib in a rematch should the latter come through his test against the highly-regarded Tony Ferguson. McGregor, UFC's first two-division champion, defeated 51-fight veteran Cerrone at welterweight so in order to cement a second duel with his bitter foe, he'd have to return to lightweight to make it happen. Perhaps the 31-year-old may even fancy creating more history by becoming the first three-division champion. If so, Kamaru Usman holds the welterweight title whereas a battle with BMF champion Jorge Masvidal could also be an option.

At the post-fight press conference in Vegas, White said: "When you look at what makes sense, he had lots of personal stuff going into the Khabib fight. He has been obsessed with getting that rematch.

"Khabib is 28-0 and you have to start talking about legacy. After tonight and after the first fight, we're looking at Hagler-Hearns, Ali-Foreman.
"This is a massive fight with global appeal. This is the fight to make. Masvidal doesn't have a world championship... Khabib is the fight to make."
Their first battle broke PPV records for the MMA company so expect another dust-up between the duo before both call it a day as McGregor continues his mission to avenge a defeat in a career which has had its fair share of ups and downs.

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