UFC 246: Michael Bisping Gives Alarming Verdict on Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone

The much-anticipated return of Conor McGregor is a few days away from us. There is a fight that can have a massive impact on Conor’s fight career. If he wins then a title shot at the lightweight division awaits for him. However, if he loses it would be pretty hard for Conor to get to the top of the mountain again. And to make things worse for Conor he asked to fight Donald Cerrone at welterweight.

Conor McGregor has only fought twice at 170 contrary to Donald Cerrone who has a fair amount of experience at the division. That apart, Cowboy is expected to be more durable and stronger without the weight cut during the fight week. On the other hand, though Conor is one of the best inside the first two rounds, he gets tried in the later ones. And with all the extra weight carrying into the fight his cardio does become a concern. 

Related: Conor could spark Cowboy: Coach Kavanagh

Has Conor McGregor Made a Mistake by Moving Up

Well, according to former middleweight champion, Michael Bisping this move from Conor seems to be a miscalculated one. Conor has put on significant muscle mass for his fight against Cowboy and Bisping believes that is going to be detrimental for the Notorious One. 

“For him to be bigger, the fact that he took the fight at 170 it’s more muscle, then there is more oxygen. So it’s only gonna make you gas out more,” said Bisping.

Bisping also believes that though Conor is very beatable after the first two rounds.

“Conor, historically throughout his career, has struggled with his cardio. You get him out of the first two rounds, he loses his fight pretty much. He is great in the first round, he is great in the second, and kind of goes downhill from there. Not saying he can’t go the distance. But stylistically, that’s just kind of the way it is.”

Bisping Favors Donald Cerrone Over Conor

Michael Bisping likes the matchup for Cowboy at welterweight. He stated Conor would have been more of a favorite had he fought Cerrone at lightweight. But at 170 lbs, Bisping is leaning towards Cowboy to get the job done.

“I think Cerrone is going to go in there stronger, bigger and heavier. And also here is the key thing. If you don’t have to cut as much weight if you don’t have to lose as much muscle in the training camp if you don’t have to do that grueling weight cut you can take a punch better.”

The welterweight fight indeed favors Donald Cerrone if you consider the experience and the size advantage. However, there is another X factor that comes into play. Though Conor may have ring rust ahead of the fight he is relatively the fresher fighter. On the other hand, Cowboy is coming off two brutal fights against two violent opponents. Also, Conor’s pace might be a big obstacle for Cerrone who is a slow starter. We can speculate all we want but it’s a fight and at the end of the day both Conor and Cerrone have 50-50 chance to win the fight. It would be intriguing to see who steps up when the pressure is at its peak at UFC 246.