McGregor to fight Cerrone in welterweight bout at UFC 246

Conor McGregor is set to fight Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Thursday.

"Conor has signed and Cerrone is ready to go," White said.

McGregor, a former two-division champion, has not fought since an October 2018 loss to current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor's last victory in MMA was a 2016 knockout of Eddie Alvarez to capture the 155-pound belt. Between the Nurmagomedov and Alvarez bouts, McGregor crossed over to boxing for a match against Floyd Mayweather.

McGregor has fought twice at 170 pounds before - both against Nate Diaz in 2016.

McGregor is reportedly under investigation in Ireland for two separate sexual assault allegations. "The Notorious" has not been formally charged.

Cerrone is riding a two-fight skid, which includes TKO losses to Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson. "Cowboy" signed a new deal with the UFC in light of the McGregor pairing, ESPN reported.