Donald Cerrone – Page 25 – Syndication Server

Conor McGregor opens as nearly 3-1 favorite over ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246

The odds are out for the UFC 246 main event between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – and they favor the Irishman in a big way.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s long-awaited return to the cage was something many MMA fans no doubt gave thanks for on the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is set to headline UFC 246 in January against [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC), the promotion announced Thursday. The welterweight fight is one that has been talked about for several months, but as with all things McGregor-related seemed to be up in the air pending his decision to put pen to paper.

Now that the fight is official, the opening betting odds have been released – and former dual champion McGregor is a sizable favorite out of the gate. McGregor is a -278 favorite at BetMGM.com. The comeback on “Cowboy” is +200.

In other words, a $100 bet on Cerrone would pay out $300 (including the original $100 wager) if he pulls the upset in Las Vegas. A $100 bet on McGregor would pay out about $136 (including the original $100 wager) if he wins.

UFC 246 takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely for ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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It probably should come as no surprise that McGregor is favored. He’s only been an underdog twice in his career. In his featherweight title fight against then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194, Aldo was just a slight favorite at -135 to -110 for McGregor. McGregor knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds to win his first UFC belt. And in his lightweight title fight against champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018, he was as much as a 2-1 underdog in a fight he lost by fourth-round submission.

Cerrone is on just the second losing skid of his career. After starting 2019 with back-to-back wins over Alexander Hernandez and Al Iaquinta, he has dropped consecutive bouts to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, both by TKO.

Before those setbacks, he was on a three-fight run that saw him pick up a bonus for his submission of Mike Perry, two bonuses for his TKO of Hernandez, and a “Fight of the Night” for his decision win over Iaquinta. He has the most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history with 18.

McGregor hasn’t won a fight in more than three years. In November 2016, he stopped Eddie Alvarez with a second-round TKO at UFC 205 to win the lightweight title. That made him the first fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two divisions at the same time. He was forced to vacate his featherweight belt soon after, having never defended it.

He never defended the lightweight title, either. He chose instead to take a highly lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 in a turn that made him truly a global superstar. He eventually was stripped of the 155-pound belt, and Nurmagomedov claimed it to set up the pair’s vicious rivalry that culminated in a brawl after their fight and suspensions for both.

McGregor has become almost as well known for his issues outside the cage as his fighting. Several months before his fight with Nurmagomedov, he had a now-infamous incident in which he attacked a fighter bus at UFC 223 and was arrested. The brawl at UFC 229, though not started by him, didn’t help matters.

Earlier this year in Miami Beach, he was arrested for taking a man’s phone, smashing it on the ground, then walking away with it. Ultimately, the strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief charges were dismissed. But in August, video surfaced of McGregor punching a man in a Dublin pub. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to assault and was fined. Reports of sexual assault accusations also have surfaced, though he has not been charged.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Conor McGregor vs. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone headlines UFC 246 on Jan. 18

The long-rumored matchup between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone is finally a reality.

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The long-rumored matchup between [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] is finally a reality.

UFC president Dana White today told ESPN.com that McGregor and “Cowboy” will meet in the welterweight main event of UFC 246, which takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie subsequently confirmed the plans with White, as well.

According to White, McGregor has already signed his bout agreement for the matchup, with Cerrone expected to follow suit in short order.

Owen Roddy confirms he’ll be in Conor McGregor’s corner, discusses potential ‘Cowboy’ matchup

Owen Roddy discusses Conor McGregor’s return, a potential Donald Cerrone fight and gives his thoughts on “BMF” title winner Jorge Masvidal.

BAHRAIN – The band will indeed be back together for [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s return.

Amidst rumors of a potential rift between McGregor and his longtime coaches, Owen Roddy confirmed that he and John Kavanagh will certainly be in McGregor’s corner for his next fight.

“Yup, yup, yup – yeah definitely, yeah,” Roddy told MMA Junkie.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) recently announced that he will be making his return on Jan. 18, but no official date or opponent have been confirmed by the promotion. UFC president Dana White did, however, say that the targeted opponent for McGregor’s return fight would be [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag], and that’s a matchup that Roddy would very much like to see.

“If it is ‘Cowboy,’ it would be an exciting fight, yeah,” Roddy said. “I said this a couple of months ago: ‘Cowboy’ and Conor is a great fight for the fans. Two guys that are exciting strikers – although ‘Cowboy’ is phenomenal on the ground, as well, but I think if it was a fight between them, it would be a striking battle, and I think it would be one for the fans, so if it is that, it’ll be an exciting one.”

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And with McGregor’s recent mapped out plan of a Jan. 18 fight, followed by the winner of the “BMF” title fight and then a rematch with Nurmagomedov, Roddy says McGregor is in good spirits, ready to make his return.

“I know he’s working very hard,” Roddy said. “There’s no official date set yet, but Conor’s been training very hard, as you can see. He’s in good nick. If you’re looking at any of the pictures, he’s in phenomenal shape, he’s ready to go. I’m sure everybody’s excited to see him back.”

In his last outing, McGregor failed to recapture his lightweight title and was submitted by Nurmagomedov in the fourth round of their October 2018 matchup at UFC 229. Numragomedov was able to impose his will, as he has done with all his past opponents, nullifying McGregor’s striking. The bad blood continued to boil over after the fight as a brawl ensued, suggesting that the chapter on that rivalry may not be completely closed.

McGregor chalked it up due to being too defensive minded, and while Roddy agrees to a certain extent, he believes that McGregor just wasn’t himself in the fight.

“Potentially, yeah, it was a tricky fight, and take nothing away from Khabib, he came in with a great gameplan,” Roddy said. “He got off, and he executed. but I just don’t think Conor was anywhere near the best of his ability. He wasn’t as good as he can be, and Conor on a night, at 100 percent, can beat anybody in the world.”

Meanwhile, the concept of the “BMF” belt has amassed mixed reviews, but Roddy admits he’s a fan of the idea. And with McGregor saying he’d fight the winner of the “BMF” title fight earlier this month at UFC 244, Roddy believes a potential fight with Jorge Masvidal would be another fan-favorite matchup.

“I thought it was brilliant; great marketing from the UFC,” Roddy said. “Obviously it was Nate (Diaz) that kind of brought it into an existence, but yeah, I love it. I love the idea, it’s a lovely belt, and Masvidal last week, he put on an amazing display and he’s rightfully the ‘BMF’ at the moment, but yeah, that would be a cool one down the line.”

“Yeah, most definitely, who wouldn’t want to see that fight? It would be a cracking fight.”

But for now, Roddy just wants to see McGregor back, shortly after “The Notorious” celebrated the three-year anniversary of his historic double champ feat at UFC 205, one of the many iconic moments in his career.

“I just want to see Conor back in,” Roddy said. “I think everybody just wants to see Conor back in the UFC, bring back that spectacle that is his fights. Nobody does it like Conor, and for me, I just want to see him back in there. Whatever happens after that, who knows?”

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