Conor McGregor predicts UFC 197 vs. dos Anjos: 'I'm gonna dust him in under 1 minute'

LAS VEGAS – Conor McGregor has never backed away from bold predictions. That hasn’t changed ahead of his quest to capture a second UFC title from Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 197.

McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), the reigning UFC featherweight champion and No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA pound-for-pound rankings, is set to move up a weight class and challenge for No. 6-ranked dos Anjos’ (25-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) lightweight belt on March 5. “The Notorious” thinks it will be another easy night of work.

After taking out Jose Aldo in a mere 13 seconds to win the 145-pound strap at UFC 194 in December, McGregor said the fight with dos Anjos won’t last much longer. He said he expects to win in 60 seconds or less.

“I believe I will dust Rafael inside one minute; he is a slower, sloppier version of Aldo,” McGregor said on Wednesday at the first UFC 197 pre-fight news conference. “He’s like a bum version of Aldo. I believe in absolutely everything. I believe that inside one minute, I will dust him.”

UFC 197 takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Putting dos Anjos away in such a fashion would be a remarkable feat. Dos Anjos hasn’t been stopped by strikes since his UFC debut in 2008 and has won 10 of his past 11 fights, including a 66-second TKO of Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 17 in December for his first title defense.

Although dos Anjos has lost before, he’s rarely been put away and at the very least, makes his fights competitive. McGregor said he doesn’t anticipate any such occurrences at UFC 197. He said it would be nice to provide viewers with more octagon time, but ultimately the brash Irishman insists he can’t shake the image of a quick finish from his mind.

“It will be another KO,” McGregor said. “I’d love to beat the ugly out of him and drag him into the second and third rounds. I would love to do that. But I feel like I’m gonna dust him in under one minute.”

After a 2015 run that earned him MMAjunkie’s “Fighter of the Year” honor, McGregor declared this year is going to be even bigger and better for his career. He intends to fight four times in 2016, with UFC 197 marking the first contest in that busy schedule.

A victory at UFC 197 would make McGregor the first fighter to hold two UFC championship belts simultaneously. He’s carried that goal with him since he joined the organization three years ago and is on the verge of making it happen.

If all goes according to McGregor’s plan, though – and the majority of his UFC career has thus far – he said he will snatch the lightweight belt from dos Anjos with ease and go on to fight at UFC 200 on July 9 against any opponent deemed most worthy.

“This man across from me has the belt, but he has nothing but that,” McGregor said. “He’s a free TV fighter; he has nothing else to offer me except that gold belt. I will go through every single one of them, make no mistake about it. Rafael is next. More gold belts.

“I will exit the contest fresh, I will cash the check, I will sign the next contract for UFC 200, the brand new (T-Mobile Arena), and we’ll go again.”

For more on UFC 197, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.