UFC 246 Preview: McGregor returns
Need-to-know info
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18
Time: Early prelims - 6:15 p.m. ET
Prelims - 8:00 p.m.
Main Card - 10:00 p.m.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
TV: Prelims - ESPN (USA), TSN (Canada)
Main Card - PPV via ESPN+ (USA), PPV (Canada)
McGregor vs. Cerrone - Non-title welterweight main event
Former two-division champion Conor McGregor makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon to battle Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.
McGregor (21-4) is fighting at welterweight for just the third time. After dropping his last bout, he's at risk of suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
The 31-year-old last competed against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 and was submitted in the fourth round. Of his 21 victories, "The Notorious" boasts 18 knockouts.
Cerrone (36-13, NC) is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Vancouver in September. "Cowboy" owns 17 submission victories in his career, which is notable, as all four of McGregor's losses have come in such fashion.
The 36-year-old moves back up to the 170-pound division, in which he amassed a 6-4 record in the Octagon from 2016 to 2018.
Holm vs. Pennington - Women's bantamweight co-main event
The co-main event features a rematch between former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm and past title challenger Raquel Pennington.
Holm (12-5) hasn't fought since a first-round TKO loss to 135-pound champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 239 in July. The 38-year-old has alternated between wins and losses in her last four fights.
Pennington (10-7) will look to make it two wins in a row after defeating Irene Aldana by split decision at UFC San Antonio in July. "Rocky" has gone the distance in six of her last seven fights and will be looking for her first stoppage victory since September 2015.
The pair first fought at UFC 184 in February 2015 when Holm defeated Pennington by split decision.
Pettis vs. Ferreira - Main card lightweight bout
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis returns to the 155-pound division for the first time since October 2018 to face Diego Ferreira.
Pettis (22-9) last competed in August when he dropped a unanimous decision to Nate Diaz at UFC 241. The 32-year-old has alternated between wins and losses in his last eight fights.
Ferreira (16-2) carries a five-fight winning streak into this matchup. The 34-year-old most recently defeated Mairbek Taisumov at UFC 242 in September.
The Fortis MMA member boasts a 7-2 record in the Octagon, with his losses coming against Beneil Dariush and Dustin Poirier.
Main Card
- Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
- Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington
- Aleksei Oleinik vs. Maurice Greene
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso
- Anthony Pettis vs. Diego Ferreira
Prelims
- Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff
- Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
- Aleksa Camur vs. Justin Ledet
- Tim Elliott vs. Askar Askarov
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Maycee Barber
- Brian Kelleher vs. Ode Osbourne
- JJ Aldrich vs. Sabina Mazo