Conor McGregor set for UFC return in January against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone
Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon on January 18 against veteran American Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in a welterweight bout.
"Conor has signed and 'Cowboy' is ready to go," UFC president Dana White told ESPN.
The fight date was confirmed by McGregor last month, but his opponent was not officially known until now. However it was heavily hinted at that Cerrone would be the man McGregor would face.
"That is my comeback fight," he told media in October.
"I am in prime physical condition."
Shortly following that October press conference Cerrone posted an image of a Budweiser beside McGregor's renowned whiskey brand 'Proper Twelve' with the caption: "Need I say more?"
After White's confirmation today that the two will indeed be fighting each other in less two months, Cerrone again used the iconic alcohol brands as a way to announce the bout.
"Happy Thanksgiving All," Cerrone said in the caption with an image of the two alcohol brands, and his name beside McGregor's.
McGregor also had a Thanksgiving message of his own, and confirmed the fight.
"Happy Thanksgiving day America! Today I am most thankful for my two children, Conor Jr. and Croía Mairéad, and to the woman who gifted them to me, Queen Dee," he said on Instagram.
"See you guys real soon in the United States for some combat action! What a country."
Irishman McGregor, who has 21 professional wins and four losses in Mixed Martial Arts and a single defeat to Floyd Mayweather on his professional boxing record, has not fought since losing his lightweight title to Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission in October 2018.
The 31-year-old has previously fought twice at 170 pounds against Nate Diaz, losing the first fight to a second-round submission but winning an epic rematch on points.
Since losing to Nurmagomedov, McGregor has had several brushes with the law, and, in a court hearing on November 1, pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in a pub in Dublin earlier in the year.
