Conor McGregor is returning to the UFC tonight against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in a blockbuster clash.
The Notorious will make his long-awaited comeback at UFC 246 nearly 16 months on from his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor vs Cerrone: Date and UK start time
- UFC 246 is being held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 18.
- The early prelims will get going at 11:30pm UK time.
- The main event clash is expected to get under way at 5am in the UK on Sunday morning, which is 9pm Saturday night in Vegas.
- There will be 12 fights taking place across the main card, the prelims and the early prelims, with Holly Holm also in action.
- UFC 246 will be broadcast on BT Sport Box Office in the UK with the card costing £19.95. It can also be live streamed on BT Sport’s website and their app after purchase.
Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone face off for the first time ahead of their welterweight clash at UFC 246
McGregor vs Cerrone: Fight card
Main card (BT Sport Box Office from 3am on Sunday, January 19)
- Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone (Welterweight)
- Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Aleksei Oleinik vs Maurice Greene (Heavyweight)
- Anthony Pettis vs Carlos Diego Ferreira (Lightweight)
Prelims (BT Sport from 1am)
- Roxanne Modafferi vs Maycee Barber (Women’s Flyweight)
- Andre Fili vs Sodiq Yusuff (Featherweight)
- Drew Dober vs Nasrat Haqparast (Lightweight)
- Chas Skelly vs Grant Dawson (Featherweight)
Early prelims (UFC Fight Pass from 11.30pm)
- Sabina Mazo vs JJ Aldrich (Women’s Flyweight)
- Tim Elliott vs Askar Askarov (Flyweight)
- Brian Kelleher vs Ode Osbourne (Bantamweight)
- Aleksa Camur vs Justin Ledet (Light Heavyweight)
McGregor vs Cerrone: Tale of the Tape
McGregor – Cerrone
- Nationality: Irish – American
- Age: 31 – 36
- Height: 5ft9 – 6ft1
- Stance: Southpaw – Orthodox
- Reach: 74in – 73in
- Record: 21-4-0 (25 fights total) – 36-13-0 (50 fights total with one no contest)
- KOs: 18 – 10
- Debut: 8/3/2008 – 11/2/2006
- Nickname: The Notorious – Cowboy
What have both fighters said?
McGregor said on the eve of his return to UFC: “I broke the game before I was even 30. But that’s the past. I’m focused on the present, focused on creating many more magical moments inside the octagon.
“Everyone always says ‘when are we getting the old Conor back? We want to get the 2016 Conor back’. I’d smoke that guy. I’m in a great fighting state of mind.
“I’ve had many iconic moments and many great moments and that came through commitment and consistency and constant hard work.
“It’s outside of it that makes the difference. If you’re not switched on outside of it, if it’s not in your thinking outside of the game or outside of the gym, it’s easy to switch off and it’s easy to lose focus.
“And then when you come back in, you’re not as sharp or as up for it, and it’s a slippery slope.”
Cerrone said: “I’m going five rounds with this dude and I cannot wait til Saturday night.
“This is the fight I wanted. Conor is one of the last of a dying breed of fighters and I can’t wait for Saturday night,” he said.
