Conor McGregor Says He Knows All of Donald Cerrone's Tricks Ahead of UFC 246

Conor McGregor doesn't seem too worried about facing off against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on Saturday. 

Ahead of the main event, McGregor went off on his opponent. 

"I can read Donald like a children’s book," McGregor said, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "He has tricks up his sleeve, but I know all of them."

McGregor is known for relentlessly taunting his opponents so Wednesday's comments are nothing new. But whether or not he really has Cerrone figure out will be a factor on Saturday. 

For starters, McGregor (21-4) hasn't fought in UFC since losing the lightweight championship to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. Cerrone (36-13) also has a height advantage at 6'1" to McGregor's 5'8".

The 36-year-old American Cerrone, known as "Cowboy", dropped his last two fights in the first and second rounds, respectively, via technical knockout and is bouncing back rather quickly from September's UFC Fight Night in Vancouver. UFC 246 will be Cerrone's fifth bout in the last year. 

Saturday will be McGregor's third fight at 170 lbs, previously going 1-1 in matchups with Nate Diaz and will be searching for his first UFC victory since 2016. 

Even though he's fought only sparingly over the past three years, McGregor has remained in the news. In March 2019, Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported McGregor was the subject of a sexual assault investigation in Dublin. In October, Panja reported McGregor was under investigation by police again after a second woman said he sexually assaulted her in Dublin.

The 31-year-old was also charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after he attacked a bus carrying Nurmagomedov ahead of UFC 223 at Barclays Center in April 2018. He eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was required to complete community service, attend anger management classes and pay restitution for the damage as part of a plea agreement.

He was also ordered to pay a fine after punching a man at a bar in Dublin in April 2019. 

There was a time not too long ago when many would've suggested McGregor was done fighting in UFC. That streak ends Saturday and if the Irishman can't back up his talk, he'll be looking at his third defeat in his last five bouts.