Conor McGregor, the trash-talking Irishman with a lethal left hand, hasn’t stepped into the octagon since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October last year. While there were hopes of a rematch between the two, it seems it is not to be, as McGregor has announced his retirement from MMA.
The often brash, loud, and over-the-top behavior of McGregor earned him a lot of fans, and probably even more enemies. Whether you love him, or hate him, there is no denying that Conor McGregor is one of the greatest MMA fighters to have graced the sport. Nobody knows what the next step for the Irishman is, but in the meantime, we can go through some memorable moments from his career.
His first win and “Sixty-Gs, baby”
Image source: ufc.com
On the 6
th of April 2013, McGregor made his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage. Brimage started the fight aggressively, throwing a barrage of punches at the Irishman. The Notorious – who struggled to find his feet early in the contest – soon found his range and eventually landed a perfectly timed left uppercut that dropped Brimage just 67 seconds into the first round.
During his post-fight interview, McGregor exclaimed, “Dana, Sixty-Gs baby!” calling for UFC President, Dana White, to reward him with $60,000 for the Knockout of the Night. White obliged and Conor walked away $76,000 richer at the end of the night.
Just 13 seconds to become featherweight champion
Image source: si.com
Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo were set to meet at UFC 189 in Las Vegas, but a rib injury took Aldo out of the fight the week before they were due to step into the octagon. Instead, McGregor met Chad Mendes for the interim belt. The Dubliner managed to overcome Mendes in the third round via TKO.
Conor would get his shot at Aldo at UFC 194, where he made history. The Irishman threw just three punches, but made the first one count. Aldo was knocked out in just 13 seconds, with MvGregor's first punch sending the Brazilian crashing into the mat. The following two punches were just to make sure that Aldo didn’t get back up.
First taste of defeat and redemption
Image source: extra.ie
There is no love lost when McGregor and either of the Diaz brothers are in the same room, with verbal and physical assaults commonplace among the MMA warriors.
The first time The Notorious and Nate Diaz met in the octagon, McGregor had to climb two weight classes and fight in the welterweight division. Although the Irishman had success in, and probably won, the first round, he gassed and was soon locked into a rear-naked choke – suffering his first loss in the UFC.
Fast-forward to UFC 202, and McGregor and Diaz are at it again. This time, The Notorious was better prepared, stuck to the gameplan and picked Diaz apart. Although both men looked like they had been put through the wringer at the end of the fight, McGregor had redeemed himself and walked away with a unanimous-decision win.
McGregor steps into the ring with Mayweather
Image source: mmafighting.com
McGregor has always been known for saying ridiculous things, sometimes it’s tough to know whether what he’s saying is actually true – or if he’s just trying to generate hype.
When he announced that he had acquired his professional boxing license and that he would be taking on undefeated boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, in a 12-round boxing match, nobody knew whether he was being serious or just running his mouth.
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As it so happens, McGregor wasn’t all talk and the fight actually went ahead. While the fight itself was fairly underwhelming with McGregor losing via a 10
th-round TKO, the press conferences were a thing to behold. Both men ripped into each other in front of thousands of fans at venues all around the world.
The match was dubbed “The Money Fight”, and it’s no wonder why. Following his loss, McGregor walked away $30 million richer, while Mayweather took home $100 million. Not bad for a night’s work.
Becoming the double champ
Image source: si.com
The Notorious predicted that he would make UFC history by becoming the first to hold two UFC titles at the same time. True to form, he delivered on his promise when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, becoming the featherweight and lightweight champion.
As expected, McGregor took the opportunity to rub it in and make it known that he was the best. In an interview with Joe Rogan following the fight, he stated, “what’s next for me, Joe? I’m going to get that second belt – where is it?’
He went on to say, “I’ve spent a lot of time slaying everybody at the company… I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster, and I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologise to absolutely nobody. The double-champ does what he wants!”
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