Jorge Masvidal outlines areas where Cerrone will be vulnerable against McGregor

Jorge Masvidal believes Donald Cerrone is capable of beating Conor McGregor at UFC 246, but only if he’s able to avoid making a few crucial errors.

First and foremost, Masvidal believes Cerrone will need to steer clear of McGregor’s fight-ending power early. By his estimation, McGregor is one of the fastest starters in the sport, while Cerrone has historically been a bit of a slow starter.

“Conor’s amazing off the blocks,” Masvidal said in an interview with Submission Radio (via MMA News). “I think he’s got great timing. While guys are getting their timing, Conor’s already coming in with the timing. He already has their timing by the time you go to your timing. Good power, (and) good confidence in it. I would rank Conor one of the better starters of the sport. Donald, on the other hand, is more of a rhythm fighter. He takes a little bit to work at it. He puts his feints together, his movements, starts gauging speeds, see how fast, how strong they’re throwing.”

“So, he works on that, and he’s like a rhythm fighter. So, with time he does a little bit better, and I think he’s got a little bit better endurance than Conor as well. So, if Cowboy comes out and he’s like a dual threat, it becomes more of a problem, (and) then I start to lean more to Cowboy.”

Masvidal continued, explaining that Cerrone’s movement could also be an issue. He believes that if Cerrone is “flat-footed” — if he isn’t adequately evasive — he could easily become the latest McGregor casualty.

“If he just comes out flat-footed and he’s in front of Conor, I heavily go towards Conor, man.”

Masvidal, of course, approaches this matchup from an interesting vantage point, having previously knocked Cerrone out.

What do you think of this fight breakdown from Jorge Masvidal? Who do you think will win the Cerrone vs. McGregor fight at UFC 246?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/13/2020.