Conor McGregor may be at a disadvantage at UFC 246, at least that’s what Chael Sonnen believes could be the case.
On Jan. 18, McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon. The former UFC “champ-champ” hasn’t fought since Oct. 2018. He’s looking to rebound from his submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. To do so, he’ll need to get past Donald Cerrone.
Sonnen Says Welterweight Could Set McGregor Up For Failure
During an edition of Ariel & The Bad Guy, Sonnen expressed his belief that oddsmakers are overlooking the fact that McGregor is fighting Cerrone at 170 pounds (h/t BJPenn.com).
“Conor is very awkward with his strikes, Donald Cerrone plays the same game. But, by the way, he’ll take you down and he’ll submit you,” Sonnen said. “Donald Cerrone has more ways to win this fight, I have to throw that out there. Even though the line has gotten significantly closer with the announcement of this being at welterweight, I still don’t think people are appreciating it.
“If Donald Cerrone can survive the first two and a half minutes, at least historically, his odds significantly rise should he can get one single takedown. The chances of him winning this fight significantly go up,” he concluded. “So yes when you are asking me if Conor made a miscalculation, I wouldn’t call it a mistake but he now has two things against him, 170 and five rounds after a layoff.”
McGregor is 1-1 as a 170-pounder. He was submitted by Nate Diaz back in March 2016, but avenged that loss in August of that same year. As for Cerrone, he’s gone 6-4 as a welterweight.
