What’s next for Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone after UFC 246?

In the main event of UFC 246, the first UFC card of 2020, Conor McGregor made his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon against Donald Cerrone.

In the end, McGregor got the job done, as he TKO’d Cerrone in just 40 seconds. He started off fast with shoulder strikes that broke “Cowboy’s” nose, and sealed the deal with a head kick and some ground and pound

Now, following UFC 246, here is what we think should be next for both Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone.

Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor returned in a big way, to say the least. The win was his first since 2016 and he now has a ton of options for his next fight. He could stay at welterweight, or perhaps go back down to 155 and wait for the Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch or fight a top contender like Justin Gaethje.

But, there really is only one fight that should happen next and that is Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor and Masvidal are arguably the two biggest stars in the sport, and it would be a massive fight where the BMF belt could also be on the line. Should McGregor win, he could earn a shot at the welterweight title and look to become the first three-weight champion. It also keeps him active as Nurmagomedov battles Tony Ferguson in April so fighting for the lightweight title would not happen until the fall.

Donald Cerrone

Donald Cerrone didn’t even land a single shot in this fight and is now on a three-fight losing streak. Where he goes from here is up in the air.

Cowboy should move back down to lightweight after this fight and continue chasing a UFC title in that division. Although he is on a losing skid he still is in the top-five and will only need to string together a couple of wins to be right there for a title shot.

His next fight should be against the loser of Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker which happens in a month’s time. Cerrone and Felder are friends, but could perhaps be convinced to fight under the right circumstances. The fight makes sense as it would be two top-10 opponents looking to rebound after recent setbacks. It also could headline a Fight Night card and have real implications in the stacked lightweight division.

Who do you think should be next for Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone at UFC 246?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/20/2020.