In what's been 15 months since he last fought in the Octagon, Conor McGregor returned to the UFC on January 18th to fight Cowboy Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. The elusive figure was out of the fight game for over a year due to a ban he received from the UFC due to a brawl that took place between team Conor and team Khabib after his last UFC fight against undefeated Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor's return to the Octagon was highly anticipated, as McGregor has been the UFC's most popular and well-known fighter since the fighting leagues' inception in 1993. The last two or three years have been life-changing for McGregor, as he not only became a two-weight division world champion in the UFC but also crossed over to the boxing world in a super fight against all-time great, undefeated Floyd Mayweather. Conor, never having been in a professional boxing match, now holds the record for the second-biggest pay per view event in boxing history. Not a bad record to have for a rookie.
Conor vacated his UFC belts due to his inactivity, partly because of the boxing match against Mayweather and partly because of his business venture, and so his return in UFC 229 against Khabib was to fight for the lightweight title that had just been stripped from him. There was a great deal of animosity between the two, and when Khabib submitted McGregor for the victory and defense of Khabib's title in the fourth round, a brawl ensued between Khabib and his corner and McGregor's corner. So, Conor now had neither of his previously held titles and a one year ban from competing in the UFC.
And so now, after 15 months away from the fighting, McGregor's return to the Octagon was very anticipated by die-hard and casual MMA fans alike. And it was not a letdown. McGregor came out of the gate swinging, knocking out Cerrone within 40 seconds of the very first round, eliciting roars from the crowd and excitement from the entire MMA community about what could be a high profile return to the sport for one of it's most exciting fighters.
In a change from his normal, brash character, McGregor was humble and quiet in the lead up to the fight, as well as in victory, calmly stating his wish to train hard and respect his opponent in the lead up to the fight, immediately embracing Cerrone after the knockout. Will this be a different McGregor we'll see now in the coming months, or is this just a way of getting back into his comfort zone within the fighting game? It's still to be seen, but fans everywhere are very excited.
