Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone came face-to-face at The Palms Casino & Resort on Wednesday, January 15 ahead of their UFC 246 showdown on Saturday, January 18 at T-Mobile Arena in the UFC’s first pay-per-view event of the year.
During the press conference, which was unusually cordial for a McGregor media event, the brash Irishman was asked for his prediction on how the bout will end.
While McGregor was not willing to give a detailed prediction, “Mystic Mac” did predict that Cerrone will be going to sleep.
“I can read Donald,” McGregor said during the press conference. “I like him and all, he’s a good guy, but I can read Donald like a children’s book if we’re being honest. He’s a good fighter, he’s got some good tricks up his sleeve. I know the tricks he has, I know what he’s planning and what he hopes to achieve, but we’re well prepared, and we’ll see on the night. It’s going to be a good night.”
McGregor last appeared inside of the Octagon in October 2018 when he suffered a submission loss to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Prior to his loss to Nurmagomedov, McGregor was on a two-fight winning streak with a welterweight bout victory over Nate Diaz and a Performance of the Night against Eddie Alvarez to claim the 155-pound title on November 12, 2016. However, McGregor was later stripped of the title due to inactivity — he was previously stripped of the featherweight belt after winning the lightweight crown.
Cerrone, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back after a two-fight losing streak. “Cowboy” went 2-2 in 2019 with wins over Al Iaquinta and Alexander Hernandez, while suffering losses to top lightweight contenders Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. Three of Cerrone’s last four fights earned him $50,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night.
According to BetMGM.com, McGregor opened as nearly a 3-to-1 favorite. The moneyline currently has the former two-division champion as a -278 favorite for the welterweight bout while Cowboy sits at +200. That means a $100 wager on Cerrone would net you $200 in wins, while you would have to bet $278 on McGregor to win $100.
The UFC 246 main card will officially kickoff at 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18 exclusively on pay-per-view.
