UFC 246: Conor McGregor’s Victory Over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone Made Some Special History

Conor McGregor’s fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone may have lasted less than a minute, but it certainly still made history. As McGregor himself noted after the fight, his win against Cerrone meant that he’s become the first fighter in UFC history to get a knockout victory at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.

“I made history here tonight,” McGregor said, according to the New York Post. “I’m the first fighter to secure a victory at featherweight, lightweight and now welterweight. Donald holds the record for head-kick knockouts and to get him down with a head kick, I’m very happy.”

Prior to their match-up, during the UFC 246 pre-fight press conference, McGregor and Cerrone had nothing but respectful things to say about one another, per ESPN.

“It’s hard not to respect Donald right now at this stage,” McGregor said. “He has my respect. And although there will be blood spilled on Jan. 18, it will not be bad blood. And for the Mystic Mac prediction, it will be a KO.”

“He did everything he said he was gonna do, didn’t he?” Cerrone said. “Any feelings? Yeah, he’s f—ing great man and I’m honored to share the thing with him.”

McGregor’s history-making win against Cerrone came during his grand return to the ring after a 15-month-long hiatus. The UFC fighter previously announced that he would be returning to his UFC roots back in October, per Sports Illustrated.

“That is my comeback fight. It is 12 weeks this Saturday. I am in prime physical condition. I have agreed the date with the company,” he said at the time, before revealing that he knew who his opponent was going to be, but that he wouldn’t release the name just yet. “If I was to give you people the name, which I would love to do, I know the UFC would flip it because they are a crafty company.”

The controversial fighter most recently faced off against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, but he lost the fight by submission. Following his face-off against Nurmagomedov (and following a post-fight brawl), McGregor was banned from the UFC for six months and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for his involvement in the post-fight altercation, as Sports Illustrated also noted.

When asked about who he’d like to face next, McGregor said he’d like to fight the winner of the Nov. 3 fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal (Masvidal won) and either Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson. But, really, he expressed an interest in facing off against anyone.

“I’m going to go through the entire roster like a chain saw through butter,” he said.

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