It’s still almost a month away but redemption will be on Conor McGregor’s mind when the Irish mixed martial artist climbs into the octagon to face Dustin Poirier in the main event on the UFC 264 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor was heavily-favoured to be the victor when the same two fighters met in the main event at UFC 257. However, McGregor was stunned when Poirier hit him with a flurry of punches in the second round and knocked out one of only four fighters to have held simultaneous UFC world title belts in multiple weight classes.
That Poirier-McGregor bout was the second meeting between the two fighters and was supposed to be a routine stepping stone for the Notorious One en route to a shot at regaining the lightweight world title. He’d easily beaten Poirier in their first fight via a first-round TKO.
Expectations are that the loss will prove to be a wakeup call for McGregor and that he’ll be his old self when the two clash again on July 10th. McGregor recently suggested via Twitter that the reason for his loss was that his children were in the crowd to watch him fight. McGregor believes that the presence of his loved ones tamed his animal instincts and weakened his aggression.
There is a belief among those in the UFC that he just might have a valid point. Certainly, McGregor is taking a different approach to this bout. He’s already arrived in Las Vegas without his family in tow.
“I’ve heard that he’s locked himself up for this one,” former UFC fighter and current MMA coach Mark Weir told SkySports. “He’s put himself in the old cave scenario. He’s being punished and he’s there for a reason.
“McGregor is dangerous. He’s doing the right thing. Look at Rocky IV. Sometimes you have to take yourself away and go back to where you came from. Go back to where the hunger is.”
UFC Ottawa memories
Interestingly enough, the last time an opponent was set up in front of McGregor to be a stepping stone along his comeback trail, that fighter was connected to the only time that Ottawa played host to a UFC event.
On January 18th, 2020, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone faced McGregor at UFC 246, also in Las Vegas. McGregor scored a TKO via a head kick and punches just 40 seconds into the bout.
Seven months earlier, Cerrone was a headliner at Canadian Tire Place for UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs Cowboy. His experience in Canada’s capital city turned out much better than Cerrone’s meeting with the Notorious One in Sin City.
Cerrone delivered a punishing performance in recording a unanimous five-round decision over Al Iaquinta in what was, much like the Poirier-McGregor bout, a battle between two top lightweight contenders. Cerrone was ranked No. 8 in the world at the time, while Iaquinta was situated at No. 4 in the rankings.
Cerrone dropped Iaquinta in both the third and fourth rounds of an action-filled, highly-entertaining bout.
Two judges scored the fight 49-45 and the other had it 49-46, all in favour of Cerrone. The win extended his record for most UFC career victories to 23.
All Downhill From There
Following his Ottawa victory, Cerrone lobbied for another shot at the UFC world lightweight title belt. He’d lost to Rafael dos Anjos via first-round TKO in his first chance for the title in 2015.
Instead of fighting for the belt, ever since, Cerrone has been battered and belted about. Ottawa has proven to be Cerrone’s Waterloo. In fact, he hasn’t won a single fight since walking out of the cage victoriously in Ottawa.
There was a second-round TKO loss to Tony Ferguson at UFC 238. Headlining a second UFC Fight Night in Canada – this one in Vancouver – Cerrone suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of Justin Gaethje. Next came the loss to McGregor at UFC 246 and a unanimous decision defeat against Anthony Pettis at UFC 249.
The closest to a bright spot for Cerrone was a majority decision draw last year with Niko Price that was later declared a no-contest when Price came up positive for marijuana in a post-bout drug test.
In his only bout of 2021, Cerrone suffered another first-round knockout, this one delivered by Alex Morono.
Donald Cerrone has dropped right out of the UFC lightweight rankings.
