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Conor McGregor made a truly emphatic statement on his UFC return as he stopped Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in just 40 seconds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
McGregor had been out of action for 15 months since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov , but made a thunderous start to his comeback bout, charging at Cerrone from the outset before landing several highly unorthodox shoulder strikes in the clinch.
McGregor then stepped back and a precision head kick high over the guard landed square on the jaw of Cerrone, who was also caught by a flying knee and crumpled to the mat as the Dubliner went for an early finish.
"I made history here, I set another record: I'm the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockout victories at featherweight, at lightweight and now at welterweight, so I'm very, very proud of that," McGregor said in the octagon.
The Irishman intends to fight twice more this year and this week made an effort to distance himself with his controversial behaviour in the past, instead cutting an unusually respectful figure at both his pre-fight media commitments and his post-fight press conference. Here is the story of McGregor’s return to the Octagon as he gears up for a busy 2020.
Show all 85 1 /85The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Conor McGregor made an emphatic statement on his UFC return as he needed just 40 seconds to overpower veteran American Donald Cerrone at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Both men took part in an unusually restrained and respectful pre-fight press conference prior to the bout. The Irishman is known for his combustible and controversial press conference appearances, but the 31-year-old was on his best behaviour ahead of his return to the UFC.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor, a former two-weight world champion, warmly shook hands with Cerrone upon being introduced to the stage by UFC president Dana White. But the evident respect between the two men did not stop McGregor from predicting that the fight would end via knockout.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone, a 36-13 veteran who has lost his last two fights, meanwhile admitted this was the toughest test of his career.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone “He’s a two time champ, it’s the toughest battle to date. This is the biggest one so let’s see what happens.”
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The pair posing for photographs.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Tensions did not rise during the face-off.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone faces the media ahead of the weigh-in on Friday.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The 36-year-old entered the fight with a 36-13-1 record.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone He was placed #5 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone But is a regular campaigner at welterweight.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Conor McGregor meanwhile revealed the series of events in the lead up to his defeat against Khabib Nurmagomedov that saw the Irishman drinking all week, competing in unprotected sparring and partying for days on end in celebration of knocking opponents out.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone “I was drinking all bleeding fight week,” McGregor told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I had venom in me or something. “I had people holed up in a hotel and I would ring and arrange a fight, they would come to the gym and have a full-blown fight with no headguards.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone “I'd have a war, win and knock the guy out and go off and celebrate and come back in three days. “I wasn't doing what I should have been doing; I've made mistakes and I've been man enough to admit them.”
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone “If I'm in the wrong, I'm in the wrong,” he continued. “I let people down and that's it. I'm in a position where I must take control of things and not shy away. “I've never done that in my career and I never will; the people who believe in me and support me deserve better."
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone arrives for the weigh-in.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone was the first to make weight at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas on Friday morning.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor arrived 40 minutes into the two-hour weigh-in window.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone He weighed-in at an identical weight: 170lbs.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The Irishman prepares to take to the stage.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The pair shake hands during the weigh-in
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor made a typically dramatic entrance.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone And gamely snarled for the cameras.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The Irishman kept things respectful for the fight, but ratcheted up the drama at the weigh-in.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor is interviewed by Joe Rogan.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The pair pose...
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone ... and face-off for more photographs.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone boats a notable height advantage.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cowboy is the first to arrive at the T-Mobile Arena. The American has his hands taped.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The 36-year-out cuts a calm and composed figure.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor is the last to arrive at the T-Mobile. Sporting a burgundy suit, he arrived at the T-Mobile with his partner, Dee Devlin.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The fight attracted plenty of famous fans...
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Lineal heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury enjoys himself behind Dee Devlin, McGregor's partner.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor has his hands taped. He also received a massage as his hands were taped.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor's team watch on as their man prepares for his comeback bout. The dressing room was noticeably calmer than for previous fights.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The Octagon in the moments ahead of McGregor vs Cerrone.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cerrone makes his ring walk and was first to enter the Octagon.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor begins his ring walk.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone He soaks up the applause
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Fans before the fight
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone He cut a much more restrained figure entering the Octagon. And - unusually - decided against entering the Octagon with a Billion Dollar Strut.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The two square-up.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The fight begins at a tremendous pace with Cowboy clinching. But McGregor hits the American with four unorthodox shoulder strikes.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor hits Cerron.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The pair separate and Cowboy throws a defensive kick..
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone ... but McGregor throws a kick of his own which lands on Cowboy's chin.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The kick lands flush.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cowboy staggers backwards.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone And McGregor attacks with a flying knee.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The blow lands.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone And McGregor goes in for the kill.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor's ground and pound is initially wild.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone But, after a few seconds and upon instruction by his coach, McGregor calms himself down.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor begins picking his shots...
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone ... and the fight is finished.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The walk away.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor is the victor.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Herb Dean called a halt to a brief one-sided contest within the first minute of the opening round. "I made history here, I set another record: I'm the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockout victories at featherweight, at lightweight and now at welterweight, so I'm very, very proud of that," McGregor said in the octagon.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone "Donald holds the record for most head-kick knockouts, I'm so happy to get him down with a head kick myself. I'm very, very happy, very proud.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone "Who's going up and down divisions and stopping people like that?
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone "The UFC can strip fighters and gift 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."
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The former two-weight UFC champion had been out of action since losing to bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at the same venue in October 2018, while this was his first win inside the octagon in more than three years.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone On that occasion, he stopped Eddie Alvarez to add the lightweight title to his featherweight crown, becoming the first fighter in the company to hold two belts simultaneously.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone He went on to fame and fortune with a crossover boxing bout against American superstar Floyd Mayweather, but a couple of legal issues after his defeat to Nurmagomedov placed a doubt on whether he would return to the octagon.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor, though, remains mixed martial arts' biggest draw, saying earlier this week he expects to pocket around 80million US dollars from his bout against Cerrone.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The victor reflects on his victory
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone As for what is next, McGregor, who has been linked with showdowns against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and 'BMF' titlist Jorge Masvidal, added: "Any one of these little mouthy fools can get it. "It does not matter. I'm back and I'm ready. I like this weight division, I feel really good, it's good going up and down. God willing I came out of here unscathed."
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor embraces his girlfriend.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The pair celebrate McGregor's victory.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor also embraced Cowboy's grandmother.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor and Cowboy shake hands.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor celebrates his victory
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor embraces Cerrone after their fight
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Shortly after the fight, Cowboy was transported to hospital.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone Cowboy leaves the Octagon with his young son.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor celebrates his win with family in the Octagon
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor exits the Octagon and is given an escort back to the dressing room.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor now boasts a 22-4 professional record and has a pick of potential opponents.
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The story of McGregor vs Cerrone The story of McGregor vs Cerrone McGregor and his family pose for a celebratory photograph.
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Check the above gallery to see the full story of how McGregor made a winning return to the UFC.
For a full report of the UFC 246 main event: click here
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