Conor McGregor vs Cowboy: The full story of UFC 246 star’s sensational return to the sport

Conor McGregor made a truly emphatic statement on his UFC return as he stopped Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in just 40 seconds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

McGregor had been out of action for 15 months since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, but made a thunderous start to his comeback bout, charging at Cerrone from the outset before landing several highly unorthodox shoulder strikes in the clinch.

McGregor then stepped back and a precision head kick high over the guard landed square on the jaw of Cerrone, who was also caught by a flying knee and crumpled to the mat as the Dubliner went for an early finish.

"I made history here, I set another record: I'm the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockout victories at featherweight, at lightweight and now at welterweight, so I'm very, very proud of that," McGregor said in the octagon.

The Irishman intends to fight twice more this year and this week made an effort to distance himself with his controversial behaviour in the past, instead cutting an unusually respectful figure at both his pre-fight media commitments and his post-fight press conference. Here is the story of McGregor’s return to the Octagon as he gears up for a busy 2020.

Check the above gallery to see the full story of how McGregor made a winning return to the UFC.

For a full report of the UFC 246 main event: click here.