Conor McGregor is just a left hand, they said. He has nothing else to his game. Try pulling that fast one again now. The Irishman rightly took satisfaction in proving the doubters wrong as he dismantled Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in just 40 seconds at UFC 246. Yes, Herb Dean stepped in as he rained down blows on a grounded and helpless Cerrone with that famous left fist. But it was the work before that that really earned the victory. The shot from the hip that broke Cerrone’s nose as the American dipped to avoid McGregor’s overhand left straight out of the gate. The unconventional – but equally effective – blows from the left shoulder in the clinch that further busted up Cerrone’s eye. Conor blasts Dana’s Moscow stance for Khabib rematch The high kick to the head – Cerrone’s own party trick – that landed flush on the chin and staggered him into the fence. There was even a Jorge Masvidal-style flying knee thrown in for good measure. Then came that left hand. A beautiful set-up. McGregor’s skill set is criminally overlooked and underrated. It’s arguable he has never looked better. “I did come out and I let that left hand go from the chamber,” McGregor told a post-event press conference at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “The force of him dipping and me connecting with him with my hip even was a shot in itself. “But I probably put that down to 15 months outside the Octagon. A little bit overstepping the shot. I knew Donald’s good at dipping under the left hand and I knew he would attempt it. He’s done it to the former champion in the 170 division, Robbie Lawler. He dipped under the left hand multiple times and secured takedowns. He dipped under the now middleweight Darren Till. “You know, they’ll have to say now … you know they already say I’ve just got a left hand. They’ll have to say I’ve just got a left shoulder as well. A left hand and a left shoulder. The so-called experts of the game when they’re breaking down my skill set, they’re saying I’m just a fighter with a left hand. Which is highly disrespectful and uneducated. “You’d be surprised at some of the supposedly knowledgeable people. They be just claiming it as that. It’s a good shot in the clinch. You can really catch a man. I knew I caught him with the first one off guard, then I caught him with one or two more. I separated the nose and the eye was bust. It’s a good shot, I’ve utilised that many times in the gym, and happy with it.” Just look at it from a statistical point of view. Forty seconds is the fastest anyone has ever finished Cerrone, by a long shot, and McGregor landed 19 strikes to Cerrone’s zero. This is against a man who has the records for most UFC wins (23), finishes (16), knock-downs (20) and post-fight bonuses (18). As the McGregor himself was keen to point out, he is the first UFC fighter with knockout victories in three different weight divisions. The former featherweight and lightweight champion deserved this moment to gloat. He was doubted by so many. Even UFC president Dana White did not think McGregor was good enough to hang at welterweight. “You won’t hear another peep out of me about him fighting at 170 again,” White said in the aftermath. Even more impressive was that it all came after a 15-month lay-off. “The other thing that makes him different, more importantly when you lose one and come back, is the time off,” White said. “Time off is usually never very good for fighters. You stay active, you stay in better shape, your timing is better. Many of you know, I’m a big believer in ring rust. It’s real, I’ve seen it happen. We didn’t see it tonight.” After abstaining from alcohol for five months, that cup of Proper 12 whiskey McGregor was sipping on stage must have felt good. “Coner McGregor looked ridiculous tonight. Nobody saw that coming. Nobody,” White added, summing it up nicely. “The way he went in there, it looked fast, sharp, strong, and it was all about Conor. It had nothing to do with Cowboy being shot or anything like that. “That kid has incredible fight IQ and has speed, power and ability to back it up. And implement.”