January Is Going To Be All About Conor McGregor Vs. Donald Cerrone

The Showdown: McGregor Vs. Cowboy

Typically, we get an event from the UFC on a near-weekly basis throughout the year.

Pay-per-view cards. Fight night events. You name it, there tends to be one almost every seven days.

However, as we enter into 2020, the focus is going to be on UFC 246 and Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone for almost three entire weeks.

So, be prepared for plenty of “Notorious” and “Cowboy.”

The last UFC card of 2019 took place on December 21 from Busan in South Korea, as “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung defeated former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. It was a crowning moment in the career of Jung, as he thrilled his native country fans.

We completed the remainder of the month – and year, and decade – for that matter without another UFC event. That is a pretty unusual and interesting thing for the promotion to do.

Unless you check back to see just what that first card is going to feature.

The Return Of “Notorious”

McGregor will be competing for the first time since late in 2018. He returned at UFC 229 from a near-three year hiatus, falling to Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission for the UFC lightweight championship.

It has been quite the rocky road for the 31-year-old Irish fighter since. He has battled out-of-the-Octagon troubles with the law, and has also had to take the wait-and-see approach with who he would be matched up against.

While McGregor has not officially won a match in the UFC since 2016, we must remember who this man is. At UFC 205, he became the first fighter in promotion history to wear titles in two different weight classes at the same. time.

McGregor, who knocked out Jose Aldo in just seconds to win the featherweight title, became the lightweight champion by destroying Eddie Alvarez. Between those two championship matches, we were treated to a pair of incredible battles – and plenty of press conference, interview sessions – between McGregor and Nate Diaz.

From 2011 when he finished Huge Brady at Chaos FC 8 through the win over Aldo in 2015, McGregor never lost. He also of course took on the great Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, surviving for much of the contest before falling.

For someone searching for a win for the first time in years, stepping inside the Octagon against Cerrone is no easy task.

“Cowboy” Is Quite The Welcome-Back Party

A former title contender himself, “Cowboy” has matched wits and blows with the likes of Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Al Iaquinta, Darren Till, Robbie Lawler and Jorge Masvidal – and all of those bouts have come since 2017.

Cerrone’s UFC resume is one of legendary status. He has the most wins inside the Octagon with 23, the most finishes with 16 and the most post-fight bonuses with 18. His 33 total UFC fights are tied with Jim Miller for the most, and he also competed six times within a 12-month period, tied with Sam Alvey.

In terms of the lightweight division, Cerrone’s 17 wins are second most and his 10 finishes are third most.

This bout, though, will be contested at the welterweight ranks.

So, as we usher in 2020, prepare yourself for some interesting press conferences, plenty of interviews and a bevy of promos for UFC 246 featuring Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone.

UFC 246: McGregor Vs. Cowboy

MAIN CARD (ESPN+ Pay-Per-View)
Welterweight: Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone

Female Bantamweight: Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington

Heavyweight: Aleksei Olenik vs. Maurice Greene

Strawweight: Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso

Lightweight: Anthony Pettis vs. Carlos Diego Ferreria

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2)
Female Flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi vs. Maycee Barber

Featherweight: Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff

Lightweight: Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast

Featherweight: Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass)
Female Flyweight: Sabina Mazo vs. JJ Aldrich

Flyweight: Tim Elliott vs. Askar Askarov

Bantamweight: Brian Kelleher vs. Ode Osbourne

Light Heavyweight: Aleksa Camur vs. Justin Ledet