UFC 246: Relive the drama as McGregor beats Cerrone

It’s safe to say there’s going to be a party in Las Vegas tonight...

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You've got to love that attitude from Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. He knows better than must that you win some, you lose some.

And if you lose one, you've just got to take it on the chin and move on. So to speak.

Donald Cerrone: "I was like 'oh man, this happened this fast'. I got my ass whipped early!

"Ah man, I love this sport. I'm going to keep fighting. I don't care, this is what I love man."

Donald Cerrone: "He got me with his elbows right away and distorted me. Then he head-kicked me.

"I've never seen anything like that. He caught me way off guard. He busted my nose, it started bleeding, then he stepped back and head-kicked me."

If that's a taste of what the UFC has in store for 2020 then I want in!!

Conor McGregor said he wants "activity". How many fights will he now have this year? And who's next? I can't wait.

It was the statement performance that Conor McGregor has been promising us, that he needed to launch his 2020 campaign. It's exciting moving forward.

The fans have gone home after seeing exactly what they were hoping for. Anyone that turns out for a Conor McGregor fight wants to be there when he turns in a vintage performance and that was vintage.

As it played out, Cowboy Cerrone was the right opponent, he was handpicked, for that exact reason - that he will get caught cold early on.

Conor McGregor: "I like this weight division, I feel really good going up and down. I came out of here unscathed, I'm in shape. I don't believe I'm there yet though, I've still got one to do to get back to where I was. I'm back and I'm ready!"

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And then McGregor tells us all the different sizes they now do in his whiskey. Like he needs any more money.

Just pocketed $80m, for 40 seconds' work, and is still thinking like a businessman. Never misses a trick.

Conor McGregor: "It was a nice shot [with his shoulder], he wasn't expecting that. When we separated I saw the blood in his eye.

"I'm so happy. Who's going up and down divisions and stopping people like that?! The UFC can strip fighters [belts] and give other fighters make-believe belts in order to replicate my champ-champ status but they can't give knockout victories across multiple weight divisions.

"Etch my name in history one more time. For the Irish people, for my ma back home...I love ya to bits, I'm coming home with the win!!"

Conor McGregor: "I made history here tonight, I set another record. I'm the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockouts at featherweight, lightweight and now welterweight so I'm very proud of that.

"Donald holds the record for the most head-kick knockouts so I'm so happy to get him there with a head-kick myself."

Before raining the lefts on Cerrone, Conor McGregor did the damage to Cowboy's nose with his shoulder in the clinch...

In his post-fight interview, McGregor said: "I changed levels with that and came up into it so it was a good shot...Ireland baaaby!"

He’s back… with a BANG! It’s a new year and a new McGregor, as he wipes away the memories of his previous two losses with a monumental performance against Donald Cerrone. The roof lifts off the T-Mobile Arena as it erupts in green, white and orange.

There was no dry ice here tonight, no big emphatic ring walk. It was all business. He got in there and got the job done. Now the bravado can come back.

Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman and a few others are pulling their faces cageside but they're cageside for a reason - they all want the Conor fight. And right now, with his arm raised, the power is back in the hands of Conor McGregor. He will now choose what he does next.

What a return by Conor McGregor. He came out quickly and once that high kick landed, he was clinical.

It took a few lefts to get Cowboy to his knees and then the Irishman rained down the punches until the referee had to step in. Ruthless.

40 seconds, that's all it was. And Cowboy Cerrone looks like he's been hit by a truck.

That was exactly what Conor wanted to do. You could see from the get-go he wanted to get that left hand going and once Cowboy threw that high kick - which we all agreed was one of his best weapons - he countered with one straight away.

Conor McGregor returned to the octagon in style at UFC 246 as he beat American fan favourite Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in just 40 seconds in Las Vegas.

Irishman McGregor, 31, came out on top after one of the most spectacular performances of his career.

Two of UFC's most popular fighters went toe to toe in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena.

But referee Herb Dean stepped in and waved off the contest inside a minute after a series of blows from McGregor.

Conor immediately took the centre and threw the left hand. Cowboy ducked underneath it, trying to get the takedown, I think he decided that was the game plan coming in.

But Conor got the head kick, it was partially blocked but Cowboy was wobbled onto his heels, then Conor followed up with a flying knee. It was a faultless performance by Conor McGregor.

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Conor McGregor collapsed to his knees, the emotion that must be running through his body after the last 15 months, everything he's gone through. What a finish!

Cerrone threw a high kick but Conor caught it and threw one straight back, and that's what led to the finish.

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