GIVEN THE ENORMOUS impact he has already had in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it’s hard to believe that Conor McGregor has been on the roster of MMA’s leading organisation for just two years.
McGregor celebrates his second anniversary as a UFC fighter today, so we’ve charted the 26-year-old Dubliner’s most definitive moments along the way.
7 February, 2013: After much speculation, McGregor signed a multi-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This immaculate performance against Ivan Buchinger five weeks earlier, which saw him make history by winning a second Cage Warriors title, convinced the UFC that the time was right to make a move for the hotly-tipped Dubliner.
McGregor became only the second Irish fighter to be signed by the UFC, following in the footsteps of friend and team-mate Tom Egan. With a debut scheduled for Sweden on 6 April against Marcus Brimage, McGregor would attempt to pick up Ireland’s first UFC win.
“Conor is destined for the top, so an approach from the UFC was inevitable. He fully deserves this opportunity and I’m excited about seeing the impact he’s going to have there,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.
25 February, 2013: McGregor signalled his intentions on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani: “It’s only the beginning. I’m here to take over. I’m not here to be the token Irish guy. I’m going all the way to the top.”
6 April, 2013: The Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm played host to McGregor’s first UFC appearance. It lasted just 67 seconds, as Marcus Brimage — who took a 3-0 UFC record in to the bout — was disposed of in emphatic fashion.
Despite fighting on the preliminary card, McGregor stole the show and picked up a ‘KO of the Night’ bonus of $60,000.
It was a dream debut, and UFC President Dana White certainly seemed impressed…
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
31 May, 2013: As the hype behind McGregor began to gather momentum, he was matched against English featherweight Andy Ogle in his next outing — set for Boston on 17 August.
11 July, 2013: Ogle withdrew from the bout due to injury, so highly-regarded American fighter Max Holloway stepped in to replace him. Reacting to the change of opponent, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh told SevereMMA.com: “Stylistically, this match-up has more potential to be a real crowd-pleaser as Holloway tends to strike more. Prediction? Holloway is good technical fighter but I don’t see him getting out of the first round.”
17 August, 2013: In front of a large and vocal Irish crowd at Boston’s TD Garden, McGregor went the distance for the first time in his career but comprehensively defeated Holloway via unanimous decision. However, in his post-fight interview, the Irish featherweight mentioned that he sustained a knee injury in the second round of the bout.
23 August, 2013: McGregor suffered a significant setback, as it was revealed that he’d be facing a lengthy absence due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
30 April, 2014: As McGregor reached the end of a rigorous programme of rehabilitation, the UFC confirmed that a long-rumoured bout against Cole Miller would headline their return to Dublin on 19 July.
3 June, 2014: It was announced by the UFC that McGregor would now face Brazilian fighter Diego Brandao after Miller pulled out, citing a thumb injury.
18 July, 2014: As MMA fever gripped the nation, a hyped-up McGregor weighed in for his long-awaited returned to action against Brandao in his hometown.
19 July, 2014: At the packed-out O2 (now the 3Arena) in Dublin, McGregor finished Brandao via TKO in the first round of their headline bout. There were also wins for fellow Dubliners Cathal Pendred, Neil Seery and Paddy Holohan on a memorable night for Irish MMA.
“I said I was going to put him away in the first round and I put him away in the first round,” said McGregor. “It would have had to be something special to come over here to my hometown and take this away from me. There’s not a man alive that can come on this soil and beat me.
“It was a clean sweep for the Irish. I said it last year, we’re not here just to take part, we’re here to take over.”
As the hype surrounding Conor McGregor increased, so did the purses. He was given a new lucrative contract by the UFC and a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus.
22 July, 2014: Following that comfortable win over Brandao, the UFC wasted no time in sending McGregor back in to battle. Three days later, a bout against Dustin Poirier — McGregor’s highest-ranked opponent to date — was announced for UFC 178 in Las Vegas on 27 September.
21 September, 2014: Poirier and McGregor engaged in plenty of verbal sparring in the build-up to their clash, and in spite of it being his toughest test so far on paper, McGregor was his usual confident self:
“I don’t believe he’s a step up or the best guy I’ve ever fought,” McGregor told MMAjunkie.com. “I look in the mirror and that’s the best guy I’ve ever fought. For me, this fight seems easy.
“He’s a journeyman fighter, and that’s what I see. He doesn’t impress me at all. I believe he’s a basic fighter, he throws basic shots, and in my eyes he’s a journeyman. It’s that simple.”
27 September, 2014: McGregor was true to his word at the MGM Grand, finishing Poirier by TKO inside two minutes.
“I don’t just knock them out, I pick the round,” said McGregor in his post-fight interview. “You can call me ‘Mystic Mac’, because I predict these things. These featherweights don’t understand. It’s a whole other ball-game when they get hit by me.
“I wanted to come over here to America and show the American public the new era of the ‘Fighting Irish’ and I brought my whole country with me. If one of us goes to war, we all go to war.”
With four UFC wins under his belt, McGregor was now turning his attention to the champ: “That world title is next. I’m going to fly to Brazil… and give the fans what they want: Aldo versus McGregor.”
24 October, 2014: A day before Jose Aldo defended his UFC featherweight title against Chad Mendes, the UFC announced that McGregor would return to Boston’s TD Garden on 18 January to headline UFC Fight Night 59 against German veteran Dennis Siver.
1 January, 2015: UFC President Dana White confirmed that a win over Siver will secure a shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
4 January, 2015: Siver was another top-ten opponent for McGregor, but the Irishman was expecting another comfortable evening’s work: “I feel I will stop Dennis Siver inside two minutes. I’ve ran through some scenarios, I cannot see him escaping the first two minutes.
“He is a seasoned veteran, he is a kickboxing expert, a taekwondo expert, he is my most experienced competitor that I will ever have faced. But I feel that under two minutes it will take me to dispatch him, and again it will make way for the football stadium in Ireland.”
18 January, 2015: McGregor wasn’t able to fulfil his prediction on this occasion, but it was still a straightforward task as he looked extremely impressive en route to a second-round TKO victory — his 13th professional career win which took his record to 17-2. Afterwards, McGregor was in a hurry to send a message to his next opponent.
“I feel Aldo has made a career out of fighting short, stocky wrestlers who are not good on their feet and are more intimidated on the feet and they shoot from halfway across the cage.
“I’m going to go in and I’m going to break him. I’m going to be on top of him from the bell. I will break Jose Aldo. I think around the fourth-minute mark of the first round I will knock him out.”
30 January, 2015: The UFC confirmed that the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will play host to the clash of Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor for the UFC featherweight title on 11 July.
Who said it: McGregor or a Hollywood villain?
Cathal Pendred will fight next week if the UFC need a welterweight on short notice
