Conor McGregor made a triumphant return to UFC action tonight with a much-needed win against veteran opponent Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

Conor came into the bout without a win in the octagon for three years, and despite many writing Cowboy off before the bout even began, the return to the 170lb weight limit posed an interesting challenge for the Crumlin-born fighter.

In the end, though, Conor's class shone through as he defeated Cerrone by way of sensational TKO.

This victory should mark the beginning of a busy year for the Notorious - Conor spoke repeatedly in the build up to the bout of his desire to treat 2020 as a 'season', fighting at least three times.

Dana White has said that Conor does not believe the much-anticipated bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will happen - it has, after all, been booked four times before now - only for one fighter or the other to pull out with injury.

This has lead both Dana and Conor to suggest that the Irishman could be waiting on standby, ready to cut weight back down to the 155lb lightweight division to fight for the world title belt once again.

If the Khabib/Ferguson fight does go ahead as planned, the 170lb welterweight division has interesting matchups for Conor, not least a dangerous bout against the resurgent Jorge Masvidal. A much-discussed fight against Justin Gaethje could also be made, and fans will no doubt start clamouring for a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz, after Conor's impressive outing at 170. When it comes to Conor McGregor, you can bet on one thing for sure: he's not going to back down from any challenge.

Conor McGregor made a triumphant return to UFC action tonight with a much-needed win against veteran opponent Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

Conor came into the bout without a win in the octagon for three years, and despite many writing Cowboy off before the bout even began, the return to the 170lb weight limit posed an interesting challenge for the Crumlin-born fighter.

In the end, though, Conor's class shone through as he defeated Cerrone by way of sensational TKO.

This victory should mark the beginning of a busy year for the Notorious - Conor spoke repeatedly in the build up to the bout of his desire to treat 2020 as a 'season', fighting at least three times.

Dana White has said that Conor does not believe the much-anticipated bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will happen - it has, after all, been booked four times before now - only for one fighter or the other to pull out with injury.

This has lead both Dana and Conor to suggest that the Irishman could be waiting on standby, ready to cut weight back down to the 155lb lightweight division to fight for the world title belt once again.

If the Khabib/Ferguson fight does go ahead as planned, the 170lb welterweight division has interesting matchups for Conor, not least a dangerous bout against the resurgent Jorge Masvidal. A much-discussed fight against Justin Gaethje could also be made, and fans will no doubt start clamouring for a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz, after Conor's impressive outing at 170. When it comes to Conor McGregor, you can bet on one thing for sure: he's not going to back down from any challenge.