Finally, after 15 months, Conor McGregor makes his return to the Octagon on Saturday night when he faces Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 in Las Vegas.
The former “Champ Champ” hasn’t been seen in the Octagon since that wild brawl after his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
He hasn’t won a UFC fight since 2016 when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden to win the lightweight belt.
But here we are, McGregor vs. Cowboy in a fight at 170 pounds where there is no belt on the line. This is a chance for McGregor to get back in the mix and make moves.
That is, if he wins, of course.
McGregor is heavily favored going into this fight and is expected to roll over Cerrone, who has fought five times since the last time we saw McGregor.
Cowboy is fan-favorite who is always ready to throw down, and he looks forward to putting on a show Saturday night.
So who’s going to win this one?
I’m going with the upset – Cowboy Cerrone. He said earlier this week that he wants to stand and bang with McGregor, instead of trying to take him down to the ground. It’s a questionable strategy and could lead to Cowboy getting knocked out, but something in my gut says Cerrone catches McGregor with a leg kick to the head and knocks out Conor in the second round.
Cowboy has lost his last two fights – against Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson – but that doesn’t concern me at all. Cowboy is a different type of animal. Plus, six of his UFC wins have come via leg kick to the head. McGregor will never see this coming.
I’m often wrong, and my gut has led me to some pretty awful decisions, but I’m riding with Cowboy.