A more mild-mannered Conor McGregor said that he would have little trouble defeating Donald Cerrone in their upcoming fight and claimed that he could “read him like a children’s book.”
Speaking at a press conference ahead of UFC246 in Las Vegas, McGregor seemed to be trying to kill Cerrone with kindness as he showered Cowboy with compliments.
McGregor said: “I like him a lot. He’s a good guy. But I can read Donald like a children’s book.
“He’s a good fighter. He’s got some good tricks up his sleeve, but I know the tricks he has. I know what he’s planning, what he hopes to achieve. But we’re well prepared.”
The Notorious uncharacteristically held his tongue and hurled none of the verbal attacks that his previous opponents were so used to at Cerrone, instead opting to engage in friendly banter.
At one point, McGregor interrupted his upcoming opponent to compliment his fashion sense, stating that his coat was “damn fine.”
Cerrone informed him that the coat was python and that PETA would not be too happy about it
McGregor said that even though there would be blood spilled in the fight, it would not be bad blood. He also predicted that he would win by knockout.
For his part, Cerrone spoke highly of McGregor's ground game and said that the Irish fighter didn't get the respect he deserved for his ability to wrestle.
Cerrone said: "For all you analysts thinking Conor doesn't have a ground game, get a life."
Addressing potential future opponents, McGregor dismissed the fighting style of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and said he would prefer to fight Jorge Masvidal for his BMF belt next.
McGregor, who has fought at welterweight twice in his UFC career, went on the offensive, blasting Usman's wrestling tendencies.
He said: "the more exciting bout would be me and [Jorge] Masvidal. Usman has the style of Khabib [Nurmagomedov], the sniff-the-jockstrap style."
