Conor McGregor has achieved a rare feat after scoring a big win at UFC 246.
The promotion’s biggest draw returned to action on Saturday night as he headlined the said fight card opposite Donald Cerrone in a welterweight clash.
Pullling off one of the best perfomances in his MMA career, McGregor took out ‘Cowboy’ in less than one minute with brutal shoulder strikes, a head kick, and a barrage of left punches.
It was his first win since November 2016, which will likely set him up to a bigger UFC fight as he inched closer to a title shot.
The victory also made McGregor the first UFC fighter to win by way of knockout at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight classes.
“As Conor McGregor mentioned in his post-fight interview (he was correct). He becomes the first fighter in UFC history with a knockout victory at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight,” as per ESPN Stats and Info.
Conor McGregor is the first UFC fighter with a knockout at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.
True KO artist. pic.twitter.com/16nMoFOjYg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 19, 2020
Feeling Amazing
McGregor has made one big step but it is still a long journey back to his glory days and he is aware that there’s plenty of work to do.
“I feel amazing,” he said in the post-fight interview.
“There’s still work to be done, but this is a great first step.”
“I wonder what all those ‘so called’ experts are going to say now, ‘He’s only a left shoulder!’ … absolute lack of respect and true knowledge of the sport from some of these people.”
With the win, the Irishman’s overall MMA record improved to 22-4.
Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman have emerged as a potential next opponent for ‘The Notorious’ but UFC president, Dana White, said a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov at lightweight will be big for the business.
Conor McGregor makes UFC return with 40-second knockout win https://t.co/P0zouacN7i pic.twitter.com/zEKiCDsOEG
— SportsGridUK (@Sportsgriduk) January 19, 2020
In case you missed it, here is a recap of the UFC 246 full results (via MMA Fighting):
Conor McGregor def. Donald Cerrone via first-round TKO (0:40)
Holly Holm def. Raquel Pennington via UD (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Aleksei Oleinik def. Maurice Greene via sub (armbar) (R2, 4:38)
Brian Kelleher def. Ode Osbourne via sub (guillotine) (R1, 2:49)
Diego Ferreira def. Anthony Pettis via submission (RNC) (R2, 1:46)
Roxanne Modafferi def. Maycee Barber via UD (30-27 x2, 30-26)
Sodiq Yusuff def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Askar Askarov def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
Drew Dober def. Nasrat Haqparast via first-round TKO (1:10)
Aleksa Camur def. Justin Ledet via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
Sabina Mazo def. JJ Aldrich via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
What a display. Watch #ConorMcGregor's epic knockout at #UFC246https://t.co/aezbPEAcQE pic.twitter.com/2XMySLIOEW
— Comicbook.com (@ComicBook) January 19, 2020
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Conor McGregor and Twitter/UFC)