Conor McGregor beat Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone via technical knock-out in a display of first-round dominance, with the fight at UFC 246 lasting just 40 seconds.
It was McGregor's first fight in the Octagon since his submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, which was followed by an ugly brawl between Nurmagomedov and McGregor's associate Dillon Danis.
Conor McGregor return
The fight was adjudicated by Herb Dean, who has refereed some of the most high-profile UFC fights in history, and there was not long for him to call this in McGregor's favour.
McGregor started with a straight left-right hand as soon as the round started, with Cerrone ducking the combination.
Soon afterwards, however, a barrage of shoulder strikes to Cerrone's face appeared to break the veteran's nose and rocked the American, with McGregor following up with a knee in the subsequent clinch.
McGregor followed up with a head kick to Cerrone and then a jumping knee which floored Cerrone and left him prone against the cage. The follow-up punches from McGregor were allowed for a moment by Dean, before the fight was called.
McGregor's next opponent
UFC president Dana White appeared to confirm in the post-fight press conference that the next fight for McGregor will be a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Crumlin native's preferred bout is against American Jorge Masvidal.
“There’s always somebody fun that can match up with Conor and everybody wants to fight Conor,” said White after the fight.
“When you look at this for Khabib — Khabib is 28-0, he’s undefeated, and you start talking about this kid’s legacy.
"First of all, to 28-0 in this sport, I don’t care who you fought, it’s tough to do. This guy is a world champion.
"After tonight and with how Khabib won the fight the first time and how famous Khabib has become since that first fight, we’re looking at Hagler-Hearns. Ali-Foreman. Ali-Frazier.
"This is a massive fight with global appeal. It is the fight that you make. It is the fight that makes sense - it is the fight for the 155-pound title.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
