Fighting is, at the end of the day, a business, dealing with supply and demand. If a fighter generates enough buzz, he or she will be in high demand. In recent years there has never been a fighter with more demand than Conor McGregor, yet recently he has yielded little supply. After a little over a year off, McGregor will be returning to the octagon in a welterweight bout against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, in the main event at UFC 246 on Saturday.

UFC President Dana White announced the fight on Thanksgiving via social media, and it quickly caught fire and became the most talked about card over the holidays. On paper this should be an exciting matchup.

McGregor is always a fan favorite, and whatever card he’s on is set to be huge. With that being said, Conor has not fought since October of last year, in a title fight that resulted in a loss against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Since then McGregor announced a retirement, got into some legal trouble, and disappeared from the fight world. 

Now McGregor seems ready and excited to fight, and still poses a serious threat to anyone he fights. Fighters are well aware of his powerful left hand, and his unique, somewhat awkward method of striking. The way he uses the angles of the cage to his advantage displays his high IQ as a mixed martial artist, and he baits his opponents into falling vulnerable to a devastating overhand punch.

Certainly McGregor is the biggest star the sport has ever seen, but Cerrone is not some layup fight for him getting back into the UFC. 

Cerrone made his MMA debut in 2006, and is now the holder of several UFC records. “Cowboy” comes from a kickboxing and muay-thai background, and he holds the record for most head kick knockouts. Despite his age he has remained effective. In the time that Conor has fought once, Cerrone has fought five times and is still incredibly active. 

There have been questions about Conor having “ring rust” and not being able to maintain the kind of pace needed to fight someone like Cerrone, and he could gas out in the early rounds. 

With that being said, Conor has proved to be an elite striker with strong takedown defense, and an incredible knack for counterpunching. On the flip side, Cerrone is an experienced kickboxer with underrated wrestling and jiu-jitsu, and could display more ways to win than McGregor.

The tale of the tape for this welterweight main event reveals something very exciting. Both of these fighters have an incredible fan following and are at the top of their games in an always developing and enticing sport. For McGregor, this could propel him to another title fight and a rematch with Nurmagomedov. For Cerrone, win or lose he will continue to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. 

UFC 246 guarantees an incredibly fun fight that could result in an absolute war.