MMA Betting Odds: Connor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone Preview

Veteran mixed martial arts fighter Connor McGregor is headed to the octagon next year, and his next opponent is likely to be Donald Cerrone, a.k.a. “Cowboy.” And, this is genuinely a dream fight for any MMA betting fan!

 

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The reasons: they are two of the top finishers in the sport, and also have very compelling personalities, which can ignite the media fire, and get people excited about the fight.

 

 

These two fighters are great strikers. And the best evidence is their combined 28 KO’s. They indeed possess very different approaches as to how they deploy their striking attacks.

 

McGregor always keeps his hands low, and inflict side attacks, relying mostly on his fists. He used to throw kicks, especially spinning kicks, as a way to easily open up the game of his rival, but that part of his performances have entirely vanished throughout his last few MMA fights.

 

He has taken down most of his recent rivals – including names such as Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez – just with his fists.

 

Cerrone, on the other hand, is more of a traditional Muay Thai fighter, who bases his performances on a striking approach. He focuses on jab attacks, and he finds himself at his most dangerous when rivals leave a little room for his powerful head kicks, a product of his phenomenal jiu-jitsu abilities.

 

“Cowboy” has been out-struck before, including his fights with Darren Till, Justin Gaethje, and Jorge Masvidal.

 

The Irishman has finished more fights with his fists than Cerrone. Connor has 18 TKO and KO victories on his record, while Cerrone has only ten. Of course, it’s important to avoid understating this, but if this ends up being a straight-up kickboxing fight, the big loser is going to be McGregor.

 

 

Cowboy actually deserves some real props for his striking, but that is just part of his overall strategy, as he’s considered one of the most well-rounded fighters in mixed martial arts. This means that he has more attacking options than those of McGregor. For example, when a fight involving Cerrone is not heading his way on the feet, he can also use some of his strong double-leg takedowns, which are surprising, considering he’s a fighter that attacks from a very upright stance.

 

Once he’s on the mat, Cowboy can move easily, smoothly, from position to position, chasing submissions and raining down strikes.

 

McGregor’s grappling abilities are not very strong. One of the reasons for this is because he’s very powerful at striking, and so to willfully grapple can be considered foolish for a strategy like his. In fact, it will be hard to see McGregor initiating a grappling attack, and least of all winning a fight by it.

 

 

Because Cowboy is more proficient than the Irishman on the ground, he also loves to finish his fights via submission.

 

In fact, he has finished a total of seventeen out of his total 36 professional MMA wins via submission, including victories over Edson Barboza, Mike Perry, and Alex Oliveira.

 

When it comes to McGregor, the veteran fighter has won by submission just once, a close victory over Dave Hill, and that was back to his Cage Warriors days.

 

Instead of showing proficiency in this department, this is one of the weaknesses of his MMA fight, as all of his four pro losses have come via submission. Considering his next opponent, this is probably one of the top concerns on the Irishman’s head right now.

 

 

Now it’s time to analyze the x-factors for both fighters:

 

 

This fighter has little concern for big money. First, because he got a lot of cash after fighting Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. And then he amassed even more money after facing Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

 

Plus, he has sold millions of dollars in products, notably his Proper No. Twelve Whiskey. So, with that landscape, success and cash are not the factors McGregor would be fighting for. Many will tell you that he wants to fight just for the love of competing. But if that’s the actual case, is that love really strong enough to push an accomplished, rich fighter like himself to go through eight tough weeks of training camp?

 

Can he keep his motivation up to face and defeat Cerrone? Register now to bet on Connor McGregor and enjoy the best MMA odds.

 

 

 

This is a fighter with a very solid reputation among mixed martial arts fans, and, in the spirit of the recent UFC 244, he’s one of the BMF’s around.

 

He’s ready to fight whoever is in front of him, and he can finish bouts pretty much in any position. But a factor that contrasts with his overall abilities is the time he can last inside the octagon.

 

As he finds it difficult to play many rounds, he has found himself getting knocked out on several fights. He has also shown a real weakness for pressure attacks and body shots.

 

So, do you think the BMF attitude by Cowboy will get him a win via submission? Or will McGregor utilize the power of his fists to end up this fight via KO? 

 

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