The best and worst from UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy

He’s back! After well over a year on the shelf following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Irish superstar Conor McGregor made his return to UFC action last night, stopping Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone after just 40 seconds of their Welterweight bout in the main event of UFC 246.

The show was an up-and-down effort overall, with some good – and some bad – fights on the undercard, building to what turned out to be a bit of an oxymoron in the main event; an entertaining anticlimax.

Here are the best and worst moments from UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy.

#1 Best: McGregor’s performance opens doors for the UFC

McGregor's win should set up some huge fights in the future

There were a ton of questions around Conor McGregor coming into last night’s showdown with Donald Cerrone, despite the Irishman appearing to be in phenomenal shape for the fight. Well, ‘The Notorious One’ answered them with one of the best showings of his UFC career, taking out ‘Cowboy’ in just 40 seconds with a barrage of strikes.

A big left hand missed for McGregor early on, but when he smashed Cerrone with a series of shoulder strikes from inside the clinch, it was quickly apparent who had the advantage. Seconds later, the Irishman nailed ‘Cowboy’ with a left head kick, wobbled him badly, and then sealed the deal with a series of punches that folded the veteran against the fence.

Love him or hate him, it was hard not to admire such a tremendous showing from McGregor – even if this was far from the best version of Cerrone we’ve seen. And best of all, the win opens some doors to some huge matches for the UFC; McGregor has his flaws, but nobody else in the sport brings the ‘big event’ feel to a UFC show that he does, and should the promotion book him with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jorge Masvidal, Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz next, millions will be watching. And that’s only a good thing.

#1 Worst: Cerrone disappoints – and may be near the end

After this loss, Donald Cerrone might not have many big fights left in him

While ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith’s statement that he was “disgusted” by Donald Cerrone’s performance is taking things way too far – I don’t feel it’s fair for any non-fighter to make that kind of criticism – it’s definitely true that ‘Cowboy’ didn’t look at his best last night. Cerrone’s struggled in high-pressure situations before, but he’s never folded quite like he did against McGregor – who used one of his own favoured weapons, the left high kick, against him.

So what happened? Well, you’ve got to credit McGregor hugely for a fantastic performance, but the truth is that Cerrone was on a two-fight losing streak coming into the bout and had last been seen getting knocked unconscious at the hands of Justin Gaethje. He’s still a tremendously dangerous fighter, but after 34 fights inside the UFC, it’s clear that his strengths and weaknesses have been laid bare, and it’s also a fair statement that he might be nearing the end of his storied career.

At 36, there aren’t many older fighters than Cerrone still having success in the lighter weight categories, and none of them have had as many fights – and taken as much punishment – inside the UFC as ‘Cowboy’ has. I hate to say this as he’s been one of the best fighters to watch in UFC history, but don’t be surprised if this loss to ‘The Notorious One’ turns out to be a watershed moment in his career – the beginning of the end.

#2 Best: Kelleher makes the most of his opportunity

Brian Kelleher was one of last night's big winners after his submission of Ode Osbourne

The Bantamweight fight between Brian Kelleher and Ode Osbourne was never supposed to be showcased on the main card of last night’s show; Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso was meant to be in the spot, but when Grasso’s weight snafu meant that the Strawweight fight was scrapped, the UFC made the odd decision to move ‘Boom’ and ‘The Jamaican Sensation’ to a position where – due to the presence of Conor McGregor in the main event – tons of eyeballs would be on them.

Plenty of times we’ve seen fighters in a similar position produce a stinker of a fight, but thankfully that wasn’t the case last night as Kelleher – usually known for his striking skills – took Osbourne down in the first round, secured a tight guillotine choke, and in a total rarity, forced the newcomer to tap out with his feet.

Kelleher was coming off two straight losses leading into this fight and the likelihood of him becoming a title contender at 135lbs seems very minimal, but it doesn’t matter – he grabbed his opportunity with two hands last night – earning a $50k bonus in the process – and he’ll probably get another main card showcase off it, too. ‘Boom’ was definitely one of the biggest winners last night.

#2 Worst: Why didn’t Barber’s corner throw in the towel?

Maycee Barber was badly beaten by Roxanne Modafferi, suffering a serious injury in the process

The biggest upset of the night came in the main event of the prelim card, as hot prospect Maycee Barber was beaten by aging gatekeeper Roxanne Modafferi in a Flyweight battle. Barber tried her best, but ‘The Happy Warrior’ always seemed to be a step ahead, and really used her clinch work and grappling to earn an impressive decision.

Prospects – even the best ones – nearly always suffer at least one setback in their careers, but this was worse than most because of what apparently happened to ‘The Future’ in the second round. Barber appeared to have blown out her knee, and before the third round commenced, a doctor basically confirmed, stating that she likely had a partially torn ACL.

That’s a serious injury, to say the least, and one that could well see Barber on the shelf for some time. It might even impact her entire career going forward. So why did her corner allow her to continue into the third round? It was a genuinely bizarre call to make and has likely only caused worse damage. They should’ve accepted the loss, and moved on – but instead, they made a reckless call, and who knows how it’ll affect the rest of a tremendous prospect’s career?

#3 Best: Oleinik keeps on rolling

Aleksei Oleinik impressed in his win over Maurice Greene

Insanely, Aleksei Oleinik became the first MMA fighter to fight in 4 different decades last night, as the Ukrainian Heavyweight actually debuted back in 1997. What’s more insane is that ‘The Boa Constrictor’ shows no sign of slowing down, as he submitted Maurice Greene in the second round of what was a bit of an underwhelming contest, with both men moving at a seriously slow pace.

So why does this make it into the ‘Best’ category, then? Simply put, Oleinik is not only a seemingly nice guy who it’s hard not to like, but he’s also a very unique fighter – Heavyweight submission experts are a dying breed these days – and so it’s almost a certainty that his fights will end in fun fashion even if they’re somewhat slow overall.

This one definitely fell into that category; Greene fought hard but was overmatched on the ground and Oleinik picked up another impressive submission with a beautifully applied armbar. Given he was coming off two straight losses, this likely saved his UFC career, too, and to be honest, the promotion is better off in his presence.