INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Bethany Minelle, news reporter Conor McGregor has marked his return to mixed martial arts with a definitive UFC victory, beating Donald
Cerrone in just 40 seconds.The 31-year-old Irishman stopped his American opponent with a punch to the nose swiftly followed by left kick to
the head.Image:He knocked out Cerrone with a swift kick to the headFlooring Cerrone, McGregor then finished the fight on the floor, to the
delight of the sell-out crowd in Las Vegas.Speaking after the fight, McGregor said: "I feel really good, and I came out of here unscathed
We've got work to do to get back to where I was."The Irish former two-division champion had walked to the cage wearing the Irish
flag.Following his defeat, Cerrone said: "I'd never seen anything like that
He busted my nose, it started bleeding, and he stepped back and head-kicked me
This happened this fast?"Image:Donald Cerrone pictured before the boutDespite previous shows of unsportsmanlike conduct, McGregor spoke to
Cerrone after the bout, and even hugged his opponent's grandmother when she entered the octagon to hug her defeated grandson.It's McGregor's
first win in three years, following a stint away from the UFC.In November 2016 he stopped lightweight Eddie Alvarez to become the first
fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts simultaneously.He went on to lose a 2017 boxing match to Floyd Mayweather in 2017 and
a UFC bout to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in late 2018.Image:McGregor says he will fight throughout 2020He has also been in
trouble with the law, and was convicted of assault in Dublin following an altercation in a pub in April 2019, for which he paid a €1,000
(£861) fine.McGregor says he's now back on form, and more fights will follow throughout 2020.He told the crowd: "Any one of these mouthy
Every single one of them can get it
I'm back and I'm ready."It's likely he was referring to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and veteran brawler Jorge Masvidal who both
watched the fight from cageside, and could be up to fight McGregor next.Future fights are expected to perform well on both pay-per-view and
in live arena ticket sales.
