McGregor tells Cerrone to 'enjoy Christmas dinner' - before firing first warning ahead of January showdown

As Conor McGregor mind games go it was on the tame side but the Irishman has already fired his first warning to Donald Cerrone ahead of their showdown at UFC 246 in Las Vegas.

McGregor’s long-awaited Octagon return was finally confirmed this week with the news he would throw down with Cerrone in a welterweight bout at T-Mobile Arena on January 18.

Return of the Mac: Conor McGregor to face Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in January UFC comeback

Taking to social media, Cerrone issued a reminder of why he is a firm favorite among MMA fans, listing the achievements from his 50-fight pro career.

“Let this Soak in! This will be my 51st MMA fight and I plan to add new numbers to all these list come January 18,” the 36-year-old wrote to his 1.6 million Instagram followers.  

What followed was a run-down of Cowboy’s UFC accomplishments:

“I hold the all-time UFC record for wins with 23.

“I hold the all-time UFC record for finishes with 16.

“I hold the all-time UFC record for post-fight bonus awards with 18.

“I hold the all-time UFC record in knockdowns with 20.

“I hold the all-time UFC record with seven knockouts via kicks.”

In response, the 31-year-old McGregor offered a hint of deference and even extended his best wishes for Christmas – before vowing he would face Cerrone “with bullseye vision.”

“Good man Donald, enjoy the Christmas dinner. Happy holidays to you and the family, from the McGregor’s here in Ireland.

“See you in 20/20  with bullseye vision,” McGregor wrote.

The pair will face-off more than four years after they traded jibes ahead of McGregor’s bout against Jose Aldo back in 2015.

The pair’s octagon activity could barely have been more contrasting in 2019, with McGregor not fighting since his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October of 2018, while Cerrone has fought four times this year alone.

He has lost the last two of those fights, suffering a second-round stoppage loss to Tony Ferguson in June and a first-round TKO defeat to Justin Gaethje in September.

McGregor has outlined his plans for a three-fight ‘season’ in 2020, starting with Cerrone and potentially moving on to newly-crowned ‘BMF’ Jorge Masvidal, before culminating in a rematch with Khabib.

Wishful thinking or not, the mind games have already begun for the first fight on McGregor’s 2020 list.