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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (WBZ NewsRadio) — Less than one minute back in the cage, and Conor McGregor's years-long dry spell was ancient history. On Saturday night the Welterweight UFC fighter faced off against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in Las Vegas, NV, and cliched another TKO for his record.
Moments before the fight began, McGregor (21-4-0) and Cerrone (36-13-0, 1 no contest) shared a friendly fist-bump in front of 19,040 cheering fans. Within forty seconds, UFC 246 was over.
It ended with a dramatic sequence of clean shoulder strikes from the Irish fighter, which bloodied up Cowboy's nose. The battle ended 20 seconds later with a swift left kick to the head for Cerrone.
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"What a great game plan he had, man it was awesome... I'd never seen anything like that," Cerrone told reporters after the fight. "I was like, 'oh man, this is happening fast? I got my ass whipped early."
The referee gave the 36-year-old a few seconds to recover. But Cerrone stayed collapsed and covered up on the floor while McGregor landed several more punches from above, until the fight was called.
In the moments following his win, commentators noted how focused and humbled McGregor seemed as he shared a good-natured hug with his opponent. McGregor even embraced Cerrone's grandmother after she came over to comfort her grandson for his loss.
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McGregor's latest win happened almost exactly five years to the day after he appeared in his first U.S. main fighting event in Boston, where he knocked out Dennis Siver at TD Garden.
Ever since his 2015 U.S. debut, the Dublin native has been a fan favorite throughout the Bay State. McGregor has spent time pumping up the Bruins in the locker room, partying in Southie for St. Patrick's Day, and handing out Red Sox World Series tickets to Boston firefighters.
On Saturday night, the ensuing celebrations didn't just kick off in Las Vegas. McGregor has a major fan base in Boston, and the east coast crowds were also out in force to celebrate his victorious return. More than two dozen bars and taverns throughout eastern Massachusetts showed the fight on their TV's, many of which were at capacity by early in the evening.
Shortly after 10 P.M., McGregor walked out of the arena to the song 'Shipping Up To Boston' by the Dropkick Murphy's.
New England was also being represented inside the T-Mobile Stadium, with Tom Brady spotted sitting cage-side in Las Vegas.
UFC President Dana White commented on Brady's appearance to reporters, saying "If that dude isn't playing for Boston, he's playing here." One Las Vegas reporter said White told him he "absolutely believes Tom Brady to the Las Vegas Raiders has legs."
Saturday was McGregor's first UFC victory since his fight on November 12, 2016 against Eddie Alvarez, when he made history as the first in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.
Since then, McGregor has only taken part in two fights: He suffered a loss in the boxing ring to Floyd Mayweather in 2017, and a tapout to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.
McGregor spoke to reporters at a press conference after his victorious return on Saturday night. "We made history here tonight," he said. "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."
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On top of that new record, McGregor now has an impressive 19 wins by KO, and one by submission under his belt. He also has 14 first round finishes.
When asked about McGregor's future, Dana White said at post-fight presser: "I'm telling you right now, Khabib vs. Conor is the biggest fight in sports history, but I think it might rival Conor and Floyd... and he might be willing to wait to get it."
White also said a fight in Russia won't happen. When a reporter mentioned that McGregor wants to fight in Moscow, White responded "It ain't happening in Moscow. Why? Why do you think? Many many reasons."
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