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The battle of the ages is about to take place at UFC 246 when Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone will take on Conor McGregor. 'Cowboy' Cerrone is coming into this fight following two back-to-back losses in his last fights. He is currently not on a good run, and this fight will help both of them if they are able to win it.
A win here will throw them right back into contention for a UFC Lightweight title fight along the line as well.
In his last two fights, 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone faced Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. Unfortunately for him, Tony was able to defeat him via TKO when Cerrone was not allowed to continue in the 3rd round. Meanwhile, Gaethje took out Cowboy as well, in the very first round of their fight.
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has the weight of expectations in the world heading into this fight. He last fought when he took on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. After almost 16 months, he will be entering the Octagon.
In this article, I will list 4 reasons that 'Cowboy' Cerrone will be the person to pick up the win against Conor McGregor.
#4 Octagon rust
If there is one thing that Conor McGregor is currently battling, it's the fact that he will not have been in an Octagon for 15 months when he finally faces Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. He is no longer the swashbuckling young star, and while he will always be a danger to anyone he enters the Octagon with, he is no longer the fighter he once was.
He has been dealing with legal issues for quite some time now, something that is sure to be a distraction to anyone he enters the Octagon.
Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone is far from a normal fighter. He fights more often than anyone else in the UFC, and holds records for most wins and most finishes in the UFC.
He has already fought 4 times in 2019, and while two of them were losses, he is getting enough time to recover and train to prepare for a fight against Conor McGregor. When McGregor steps into the Octagon, he might be overwhelmed by the return after such a long time, while for 'Cowboy' the Octagon is like his home.
#3 Unexpected and underestimated Cowboy
'Cowboy' Cerrone is a fighter who is too often underestimated by MMA fans. The UFC fighter holds the record for most finishes and most wins, but it is still considered that he is no longer the same fighter that he once was.
When it was announced that Conor McGregor would be facing Cowboy, a lot of fans felt that he was the safest option for McGregor among all the fighters present. Cowboy is too much of a veteran to be counted out and this expectation of a loss for him means that a fire could have been lit under him now.
When the deal was confirmed for his fight against McGregor, this is what he had to say to his manager:
"Finally, I get my hands on him."
This is proof enough that Cowboy is mentally ready for this fight and raring to go against McGregor.
#2 Cowboy knows how to make the best of his opportunities
Something that people often forget when talking about 'Cowboy' Cerrone, is that it is often expected that he will lose the fights that he participates in. However, that is hardly ever the case. Instead, he has managed to build quite the record over his long career.
Cowboy has won 17 fights via Submission and 10 fights via Knock Out. A lot of these wins have come at moments when no one expected Cowboy to make a comeback, and yet he did.
Cowboy is known for drawing from the love of his fans and the love of his family to channel and push him during fights. No matter what, Cowboy will never enter a fight without any support, and that is also going to be the case this time.
With that in mind, Cowboy will be making the most of any opportunity that is presented to him.
#1 Conor McGregor has too much to prove
Both Conor McGregor and Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone is coming into this fight on the back of losses. However, while Cowboy is excused for the losses due to his age and his fights which are far too often really close to each other, Conor McGregor is expected to win.
Why?
Simply because he is Conor McGregor. Not only is he expected to win, but he is also expected to be the dominant winner, truly beating anyone he enters the Octagon with. That is a lot of pressure to carry.
On top of that, after his last loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the pressure has never been more than it is now. Khabib remains unbeaten and seems to be taunting McGregor from afar. The loss is one that will take a while for McGregor to forget unless he can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The only way he can possibly fight Khabib again is for him to defeat Cowboy. Everything for McGregor is riding on this one fight.
For Cowboy, on the other hand, this is nothing more than another fight that he has to win. No one expects him to, and honestly, he has nothing to lose. The pressure may prove to be what swings the result of this bout in his favor.
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