ESPN's Stephen A. Smith pissed off a lot of MMA fans earlier this month when he bashed UFC veteran Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone following his 40-second loss to Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 246. During his post-fight assessment, Smith described how "disgusted" he was with Cowboy's "atrocious performance."

Joe Rogan, who was standing next to Smith when the comments were made, wholeheartedly disagreed with Smith's take as well, and he expanded upon his feelings on the “JRE MMA Show” podcast. In short, Rogan stated that Smith's commentary was bad for the sport.

Smith issued his response to the criticism on Saturday, as seen in the video embedded below.

We knew it’d be quick, but we didn’t know it would be that quick. Since the fight was formally announced, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the UFC 246 main event bout between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone wouldn’t go the distance. Nevertheless, to see the former two-time champion standing tall after dispatching of Cowboy in such an efficient and decisive fashion was still a sight to behold. As he descended upon the T-Mobile Arena to the familiar strains of his Sinead O’Connor/Biggie mash-up, Conor’s steps towards the Octagon radiated an understated confidence. Gone was the billionaire walk and overbearing arrogance of the past. In its place, a disarming humbleness that masked the analytics that he was running in his brain.

UFC 246 – Steve Marcus/Getty Images

40 seconds after Herb Dean allowed the two to engage, Conor would pick up the W without absorbing a solitary strike. At upwards of 170 pounds, McGregor was imposing in both physical appearance and in the surgical dismantling of an MMA legend. Rocking the all-time leader in head-kick KO’s with his own signature move, the stoic Conor kept moving forward and fought with the ferocity of a man with a net worth of $200 rather than $200 million. A performance that arguably surpassed his finest hour against Eddie Alvarez, Conor didn’t simply emulate the dominance of the past, he actively innovated and added new dynamics to his repertoire. Upon catching Cerrone with a knee as he attempted to shoot for a takedown, McGregor weaponized the clinch in a way that took Jon Jones’ offensive use of the shoulder and morphed it into something far more devastating.

Returning after a year and a half without a hint of ring rust, all the tumult of the past few years suddenly melted away as the McGregor hype train had lurched back into life. Sharp, present and as tenacious as he was during his initial ascent, if this upward momentum continues, his dark period in the wilderness seems likely to be downgraded to a minor blip in an otherwise astounding career.  

The Notorious will leave Las Vegas with his head held high and, more importantly, his plan to be incredibly active throughout 2020 completely unimpeded by any medical suspensions or a catastrophic loss. Propelled back to the status of the UFC’s biggest draw, both fans and pundits’ attentions now to turn to who’ll be standing across from him when he next makes the walk. As has been the case for much of his UFC tenure, Conor’s options now fall into two distinct camps– the logical and the extravagant super-fights. Although he’s barely had time to decompress, he isn’t planning on any lengthy lay-off this time around. 

UFC 246 – Steve Marcus/Getty Images

“I don’t think the ‘who’ matters,” McGregor said at a post-fjght press conference. “The who doesn’t matter for me. I’m looking at dates now. I know March was there. I’m going to have a look at a calendar and see where we’re at … I’ll be ready.” As the dust begins to settle on UFC 246, McGregor has proved to millions of people that he still possessed the talent and magnetism that made him a superstar. Not least of all to the UFC’s commander-in-chief, Dana White. Dana suggested that he isn’t that eager to see McGregor squaring off against a new adversary. Instead, he’d rather see him reignite his feud with an old one. Compared to classic boxing rivalries of old such as “Hagler, Hearns, Ali, Foreman, Ali, Frazier,” Dana hopes to facilitate a rematch between undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor.

“Going into the Khabib fight, Conor had a lot of personal stuff,” White declared. “Some stuff self-inflicted, he had injuries. He has been obsessed with getting that rematch because he knows that he wasn’t 100 per cent right. This is a massive fight with global appeal. Khabib versus Conor is the biggest fight in the sport’s history.” Considered to be one of the more volatile rivalries in MMA, there’s no doubt that the Dagestani Eagle and McGregor’s rematch could equal, if not surpass, the pay-per-view record that they’d previously set. However, White’s pre-emptive plan negates the possibility of Tony Ferguson exiting his UFC 249 bout against Nurmagomedov with the win.

Criminally underrated for much of his career, El Cucuy’s exclusion from the conversation mirrors the shunting of Justin Gaethje from the matchmaking conversation. A fearsome knockout artist that’s stationed at number 5 in the rankings, McGregor battling the Arizonian fighter could’ve made perfect sense but his lack of perceived drawing power seems to have kiboshed the bout. Even so, he threw his hat in the ring after UFC 246’s conclusion on Twitter. “That man is good. Bitch move to take that fight. Say my name.”

Ever the hotbed of controversy, Justin wasn’t the only fighter to air his grievances on social media. Where Gaethje’s lack of mainstream notoriety puts him at a disadvantage, it’s a problem that the 209’s Nate Diaz doesn’t have to contend with. Tied at one apiece, the straight-talking Stockton scrapper saw McGregor’s triumphant return as a little too storybook, declaring: “this shits all fake.” 

Exciting as the prospect of the trilogy may be, the general consensus among fans is that rather than seeing these two square-off, Conor should fight the last man to best Nate in the octagon. Heralded as the “fighter of 2019,” Jorge Masvidal’s year of defying the odds culminated at Madison Square Garden when he won the newly-minted “BMF” title against Nate. Brought to the mainstream’s attention his highlight reel finishes of Darren Till and Ben Askren, Florida’s “Gamebred Fighter” has amassed a huge groundswell of support among MMA fans and was in attendance at UFC 246. During his appearances on camera and brief interview with Megan Olivi on the PPV broadcast, it became clear that he wasn’t there as a passive observer. 

Dressed in the same Versace robe that Conor had donned before his Floyd Mayweather bout, McGregor’s post-fight interview saw him refer to Jorge as “that fool in his bleeding housecoat.” As the potential opponents were listed off at the press conference, McGregor wasn’t quite done belittling Masvidal yet.  “[The BMF Title is] not a great belt, but I’ll still take it. Add to my collection. It wasn’t a good night for Jorge if you ask me.”

Ridiculed but by no means ruled out, Jorge’s decision to lobby for the fight may have gained the ire of some, but he wasn’t the only representative of the 170-weight class in attendance. Sporting a thumb injury that stemmed from his five-round war with Colby Covington, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was also watching proceedings very closely. Kamaru’s Twitter was reportedly hacked, resulting in numerous profane comments about Conor’s wife being posted on his account.

The weigh-in at UFC 246 with Dana White – Steve Marcus/Getty Images

Yet while Dana frantically phoned Conor and asked him not to react, McGregor saw it as a transparent tactic to drum up animosity between the two. “I’d be sceptical of that,” Conor remarked. “Because one came through early and it had all the hallmarks of that little fucking weasel, Ali. They give him control of the accounts…This has been going on for a while.” Scarcely acknowledging the incident, an interview with BT Sport saw The Nigerian Nightmare in defiant spirits. “The right fight is anybody to be honest,” he claimed. “I’m the champion. I’m the chase and I like being the one who goes out and silences all these guys. If it’s Conor, he can get it too.”

Ready as the NCAA Division II wrestler and jiu-jistu black belt Kamaru claims to be, now that Conor has regained his momentum, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be booked in a fight that’d be a complete stylistic nightmare for the pedigreed striker.

Without hesitation, McGregor getting back in the win column compelled Floyd “Money” Mayweather to take to Instagram and post a freshly made graphic for a sequel to their 2017 boxing bout. A longtime admirer of the “sweet science,” Dana White was happy to announce that, in one way or other, The Money Team and the UFC are liaising with one another for 2020. “Floyd is in our plans, and we are in Floyd’s plans this year, and we’ll end up doing something.” Yet for McGregor, the omission of one logo has led him to shift his focus from Mayweather to another boxing legend that expressed a desire to face him. “He forgot ‘McGregor Sports and Entertainment’ on the poster,” McGregor said. “That right there cuts him out, so it’s me and Manny [Pacquiao]…. He’s far from retired, and that rematch will happen at some stage.”

No matter where he heads from here, McGregor’s first bout of 2020 was proof of what he can do when he consolidates his efforts into fighting as opposed to spreading himself too thin. Eschewing the distractions that had derailed him in the past, McGregor seems eager to keep his options open so long as he gets to remain active.

However, should the UFC’s Dana White get his way, Kamaru Usman and Masvidal will abandon their campaigns for the McGregor bout and wage war for the welterweight strap, while Conor will step back into the Eagle’s Nest to attempt to dispossess Khabib of his lightweight title and end his prolific run as an undefeated phenom once and for all. Love him or hate him, you can’t say it’s not good to have The Notorious one back in the mix.

Forty-seconds was all Conor McGregor needed to best Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. 

McGregor capitalized on an early shoulder shot to damage Cerrone and then, finish him with a head kick to conclude UFC 246.

It was a shocking result that left Twitter ablaze.

After UFC 246 and Conor McGregor‘s victory over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Floyd Mayweather made it clear he’s looking for another match against McGregor in 2020, as reported by Complex.

In a captionless post on Instagram, Mayweather uploaded a photoshopped promotional flyer that alludes to “Mayweather-McGregor 2” happening in 2020. 

Earlier this month, McGregor told ESPN that he doesn’t expect Mayweather to crossover to an MMA fight: “He’s not going to do a mixed martial arts bout like he said. It was supposed to be me boxing then we do a mixed martial arts bout. That’s what was said and it came out of his mouth as well. It was not written, but it was a verbal agreement. Obviously that’s not going to happen, and I’m not going to push him on that, either.”

On the contrary, Dana White says he plans on involving Mayweather in the MMA’s plans this year: “Listen, we’re doing something with Floyd. We’re doing something with Floyd,” White said on Saturday prior to McGregor’s fight. “And, umm, you know … I don’t know. It’s like, tonight’s the night of the fight, you got the Khabib fight coming, and there’s just so much going on … Floyd is in our plans, and we are in Floyd’s plans this year, and we’ll end up doing something.”

Patience is a virtue. Especially so, in the case of Donald Cerrone vs Conor McGregor. Their mounting animosity has been left to simmer for over five years. Although they’ve both spent the past few years flitting between the 155 & 170-pound divisions, the two have ostensibly been ships passing in the night, travelling on completely different paths that seemed like they may never intersect. While Conor was brokering a lucrative boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, before coming up short in the culmination of his feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov, “Cowboy” has been competing at an expeditious rate.

Conor McGregor at UFC 229 – Harry How/Getty Images

For clarity, Cerrone has stepped into the Octagon seven times between 2018-2019, with his McGregor bout serving as his 51^st professional fight. Within that same sample, the Notorious two-time UFC champion has fought once and had his athletic accomplishments overshadowed by his antics outside of the cage. Peculiar as the matchmaking may seem to the uninitiated, a square-off between McGregor and the Cowboy hasn’t been hastily thrown together. In fact, it’s the culmination of years of near-misses and confrontational run-ins.

However, it wasn’t always this way. And during their initial encounters, the two fighters from blue-collar backgrounds were actually cordial to one another. When they appeared on the same card at 2015’s UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston, backstage footage revealed that the two exchanged pleasantries before the veteran told the fast-rising Irish newcomer to give Dennis Siver “hell” for good measure. But as Conor’s star rose and he morphed into the sport’s biggest crossover star, so too did the irrepressible need to make an enemy out of every unsuspecting fighter within a mile radius. At the UFC’s star-studded “Go Big” conference, Conor shifted his focus from his upcoming contest with featherweight titan Jose Aldo to take aim at then-lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos and his opponent, Donald Cerrone. 

“I see stiffness when I look in that 155-pound division,” McGregor remarked. “I feel like they’re stuck in the mud almost. The featherweights, they hit like flyweights. So, it’s nice down there just destroying them and killing that whole division. But I have my eye on that 155 division.”

Never one to suffer perceived fools gladly, Cowboy didn’t hesitate to ridicule the prospect of McGregor moving to a heavier division: “Conor has no right coming up to ’55. There’s no way; he’s not gonna stand a chance. We’re too big for him, too strong, so you can take your little English ass and get on.”

UFC 205 – Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Yet as the years rolled on, Cerrone would have to eat those words when Conor snatched the 155 strap from one of his former foes Eddie Alvarez, with undeniable finesse at UFC 205. On the other hand, an opportunity to fan the flames of he and Cerrone’s brewing beef fell into his lap in 2016 when he decried Cowboy’s performance in a losing effort to Rafael Dos Anjos. Contested for the Lightweight title, The Notorious One chalked up Cerrone’s 66-second TKO defeat in the biggest fight of his career to simple cowardice. “Cerrone pussied out on that big time,” McGregor proclaimed. “He’s fighting again this week or sometime soon. Ask [Jose] Aldo if he can fight this weekend. He cannot fight. When you win by KO, by stoppage, by a true stoppage, you put your opponent out of action for 10 months to a year. He quit in there inside that Octagon. That’s why he can go now next weekend and say ‘Oh, I fight every week’ and this and that — you can fight every week if you go in and quit. If you were willing to die in there, you wouldn’t have those turnarounds.”

During a February 2016 fan Q&A that preceded his bout against MMA’s other “Cowboy,” Alex Olivera, Cerrone trashed McGregor’s remarks in succinct fashion, stating, “Conor called me a quitter but I didn’t even get started in that fight.” With McGregor heading into the stratosphere, 2016 onward saw the trail go cold as Conor became too much of a transcendent star to be within the reliable Albuquerque-based scrapper’s grasp.

As Crumlin’s most famous son began to reconcile with his own uncertain future, Donald’s resounding victory over Alexander Hernandez within two rounds encouraged McGregor to re-open the door Twitter: “For a fight like that Donald, I’ll fight you. Congratulations.” Fourth months later, Cerrone would lobby for the fight after rendering Al Laquinta unconscious, declaring, “I want the title, whatever that means. Unless, Conor McGregor you want to fight me in July. I’m ready.” Now, almost one year to the day since McGregor’s call-to-arms on social media, the two will finally meet in the middle of the octagon tomorrow, Saturday, January 18.

Both record-breakers in their own right, it’s a fight that, if kept on the feet, is combustible in the best way imaginable. Similarly adept in the striking realm, the disparity comes in the ground game and it’s an area of the sport that Cerrone unquestionably has the edge in. A black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu that harbours considerable wrestling skills to boot, a recent interview with Brett Okamato would suggest that Conor’s Instagram side-swipe of “the first one to shoot’s a cowbitch” has compelled Cerrone to keep things standing: “You know, I probably should,” Cowboy said of taking him down, “but I don’t think I will. I like to fight too; I like to get in there and throw down. Everyone says his stand-up is amazing, so why not go and test it?” Regardless of what game plan Cerrone implements, Conor and his team seem to be treating victory as a foregone conclusion.

Alongside McGregor claiming that he’d still beat Cerrone while afflicted “by the flu,” his longstanding coach John Kavanagh told Ariel Helwani that he sees his prized fighter besting his adversary with little to no exertion. “Whether it’s something that happens in the first minute or if it goes the distance, if it goes 25 minutes, I don’t see it being a war. I see it being very one-sided.” 

UFC 202 – Steve Marcus/Getty Images

However, there’s no shortage of esteemed figures that believe the fight won’t be as cut and dry as Conor and his SBG comrades believe. “I see a lot of people writing Cowboy off,” protested UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, “like he’s just a wash because he’s won some and lost some, but Cowboy’s a very dangerous fight for Conor. I know he’s a professional and he’s going to come prepared but I think… Conor has underestimated an opponent before [Nate Diaz] and he paid for it. And when you light a fire under Cowboy, he’s going to get going.”

Amid all the speculation that surrounds UFC 246’s main event, one thing that’s certainly changed is that the two are now operating within a headspace of mutual respect. Exhibited in numerous interviews, it’s perhaps expressed through a newly-humble Conor’s chat with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani: “Me and Donald have a history. Not a long history, but we’ve had a history. It’s an exciting bout. It’s a fan-friendly bout. It’s a fight that excites me. I appreciate Donald, I have to say,” McGregor revealed. “He’s fought a lot of times since the last time I saw him, at the Aldo press conference many, many years ago (in September 2016).”

A bout which could realistically go either way, we as fans should approach this action-packed contest without getting bogged down about what it means for the rankings or where either man goes afterwards. Ever the picture of contentment, this was epitomized by Cerrone’s typically blasé response to Brett Okamoto when asked what it truly represents. “This is like a fan’s dream fight and I’ve got the best seat in the house. So, I think I’m going to be super pumped. And at 170? Thank you. All the way around, a good time.”

Who have you got in McGregor Vs Cerrone? Sound off in the comments below.  

Conor McGregor is finally making his way back to the Octagon this Saturday as he takes on Donald Cowboy Cerrone in UFC 246. Fans have been waiting for this fight for a while now and McGregor will have the opportunity to show people that he’s still a top tier fighter. Recently, McGregor spoke to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani about the lead up to the fight and what’s been going on in his life. McGregor dropped a few gems and even spoke about his health and how he pays a lot more attention to it now.

In fact, McGregor says LeBron James was a huge source of inspiration for him. McGregor spoke about how LeBron used to spend a lot of money on his health which made the UFC fighter stop and think about his own expenditures. Now, McGregor can be found investing in himself a lot more.

“I read something about LeBron James a while back, about maybe a year ago, that he spent $1.5 million annually on his health. His everything, his nutrition, his training, his everything. And I spent nothing,” McGregor said. “I was like that’s not the way to do this. But I drop money on a blatant car, or a watch, you know what I mean? I spend on myself, on my health and my fitness and that’s helped me. Then you acquire more (money). You acquire even more then, when you’re sharp and that’s what I am now.”

This Saturday will be a true test of whether or not McGregor’s efforts to get his health in check, have paid off. Do you think he can beat Cowboy or is he a goner?

Conor McGregor's return to the UFC is set for this Saturday, January 18, as he faces off against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in a Welterweight bout in the main event of UFC 246. Ahead of the highly anticipated showdown, McGregor sat down for a nearly hour-long interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani where he touched on a number of topics including the changes he has made from the infamous Khabib fight until now.

In regards to how much money he is expecting to pull in this weekend, McGregor estimates that his total earnings will reach a whopping $80 million. While discussing the potential for a historic payday, McGregor noted that he received $50 million from the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in October of 2018.

As Helwani mentions in the video clip shown below, most MMA fighters haven't made close to that amount in their entire career. That fact drew a cackle from the Irish superstar, who responded in kind, "They think I'm toast, Ariel, but I'm still the bread."

Conor McGregor will make his much anticipated return to the octagon this Saturday as he squares up with fan favorite Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. Ahead of the January 18 bout, McGregor sat down with ESPN's Ariel Helwani for a wide ranging interview, during which the Irish superstar shed some light on his decision to return with a fight in the Welterweight division.

To put it simply, McGregor is supremely confident in his abilities at 155 or 170, and believes he could beat Cowboy even if he had the flu.

“I know, I could have (made his life more difficult),” says McGregor. “I just don’t think he looks well at 155. He’s a 170 fighter. I’d beat him at any weight. I’d beat him if I had the flu. I don’t need that [a fight at Lightweight]. I just want to focus on my training and keep me sharp. I don’t want to cut and then build and then cut. I’m happy where I’m at.”

Check out an excerpt from the Helwani interview below.

Conor McGregor is making his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon on January 18th against none other than Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. This is a fight many people have been waiting for so, of course, both fighters have been training hard for it. The last time we saw McGregor in the Octagon, he was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2018. At this point, McGregor needs a win to keep himself relevant in the sport. If he can't pull that off, there is a real chance he may never get a big fight again.

Having said all of that, it looks like McGregor is doing everything he can to prepare himself for UFC 246. Yesterday, McGregor's coach John Kavanagh took to Twitter where he bragged about McGregor's conditioning. As he explains, this is the best we've ever seen McGregor. If you're a fan of his, this is some great news.