UFC Fight Night ‘McGregor vs. Siver’ Notebook: Monkey Wrench

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has cleared a path for Conor McGregor, leaving only Dennis Siver standing between him and a shot at the organization’s featherweight title.

McGregor has enjoyed what can only be described as a meteoric rise on the 145-pound ladder, as his combination of skill and bravado have made him one of the UFC’s most polarizing and marketable figures. The former two-division Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder will duke it out with Siver in the UFC Fight Night “McGregor vs. Siver” main event on Sunday at the TD Garden in Boston, and he has been busy minimizing the powerfully built Russian-born German kickboxer’s abilities, promising a knockout in less than two minutes.

Siver has not taken kindly to his words.

“Conor McGregor seems to be a bigger talker than he is a fighter,” he told UFC.com in a pre-fight interview. “I don’t care what Conor says, but he will be punished for disrespecting me.”

The 36-year-old Siver last appeared at a UFC Fight Night event in October, when he claimed a unanimous decision from the previously unbeaten Charles Rosa at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. He has become known and feared for his spinning attacks, having dispatched Nate Mohr and Paul Kelly with back kicks to the gut. Siver sports 14 finishes among his 22 career victories.

“I am a very dangerous opponent for Conor,” he said. “I am the most experienced fighter he has faced. I have more wins and finishes than his previous opponents.”

McGregor will carry a 12-fight winning streak into the cage. The 26-year-old Irishman last fought at UFC 178 in September, when he took out Dustin Poirier with first-round punches and cemented his place as a top 10 featherweight. Color Siver unimpressed.

“I know Conor is overlooking me,” he said. “I don’t think he realizes how good I am. I will make sure Conor understands that I am the one who will beat him. I will give Conor McGregor the worst night of his life.”

NO-LIMITS AMBITION

Everyone knows Donald Cerrone prefers to stay as active as possible. However, his latest assignment seems ambitious, even by his standards.

Cerrone will tackle former lightweight champion Benson Henderson -- a man to whom he has already lost twice -- in the co-headliner, as he steps in for the injured Eddie Alvarez on short notice. “Cowboy” defeated Myles Jury for his sixth consecutive victory at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, meaning he will have gone a little more than two weeks between fights.

Henderson, meanwhile, finds himself on the rebound following a stunning first-round knockout loss to Rafael dos Anjos under the UFC Fight Night marquee in October. The 31-year-old MMA Lab mainstay has never suffered back-to-back defeats.

“I don’t even have enough time to prepare a cake. What are you talking about [with] prepare?” Cerrone said during a Jan. 6 media call. “I’m just going in there fighting. I’ve got enough time to cut weight and get to Boston. There will be no game plan, just fighting. That’s all there is to do. It’s short, sweet and get it over with.

“Here it is on 10 days’ notice -- even better,” he added. “No time to think. No time to worry. Just go out there, let reaction take over and fight.”

THIS & THAT

American Top Team’s Gleison Tibau ranks sixth on the UFC’s all-time list in career victories (15) and fourth in appearances (23) ... When SBG Ireland rep Cathal Pendred enters the Octagon, four years, one month and 14 days will have elapsed since his most recent defeat -- a December 2010 technical knockout loss to Lee Chadwick ... “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 finalist Uriah Hall is a two-time Ring of Combat champion ... Alliance MMA export Johnny Case sports 18-, 31-, 48-, 51-, 52-, 59-, 62-, 63- and 78-second finishes on his resume ... The four men to whom Lorenz Larkin has lost -- Derek Brunson, Costas Philippou, Brad Tavares and Francis Carmont -- own a cumulative .750 winning percentage ... Lipeng Zhang has been submitted five times: twice by armbar, twice by guillotine choke and once by triangle choke ... When Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Joby Sanchez was born on June 24, 1991, the top five movies at the domestic box office were “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “City Slickers,” “The Rocketeer,” “Dying Young” and “Backdraft” ... Bellator MMA and King of the Cage alum Shane Howell was hails from Ada, Okla., the same hometown as former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks ... Rosa holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo Liborio ... Sean O’Connell graduates from the University of Utah with a degree in psychology.

INSIDE THE VENUE

The TD Garden opened in 1995 at a cost of $160 million and serves as the home of the NBA’s Boston Celtics and the NHL’s Boston Bruins. The facility was built with 8,100 tons of structured steel and features seven elevators, 13 escalators, 34 restrooms, 47 concession stands and 90 executive suites.