If McGregor can’t draw on a weapon to beat Chad Mendes this Saturday, then what use are hurlers to him? Equally we’ve omitted Kieran McGeeney from consideration. This is a list for people who accidentally discovered their MMA skills, rather than trained in it.

1. Paul O’Connell’s ground work

Textbook ground work from O’Connell here.

Much has been spoken about McGregor’s limitations as a wrestler this week, and while we’ve full confidence in The42‘s columnist Coach John Kavanagh, he could do worse than giving Ireland’s rugby captain a call for a last-minute ground work session.

Robert Sidoli found out the hard way.

2. Paul O’Connell’s ground work (Part II)

O’Connell is at it again against the notorious Canadian troublemaker Jamie Cudmore, and this time we have two things to watch out for.

It’s not all good from O’Connell this time, as he lets Cudmore get several scoring shots in on him, but he responds well, taking the Clermont lock to the floor, where he exerts his usual ground work dominance.

3. The schemozzle of all schemozzles

In the pantheon of Irish sporting fights, this one stands alone.

Mayo and Meath’s famous All-Ireland final brawl may have been a dark occasion for the GAA, but it did give us several examples of MMA expertise in Irish sport.

Likewise, Pat Spillane’s expert breakdown and analysis of the fight on The Sunday Game that night showed that if RTÉ ever dip into the MMA market, they have a ready made pundit on their books.

4. “The belt was there…”

“I’d waited long enough….The belt was there (I think)…”

Conor knows what he needs to do in order to win this weekend.

5. Pipe dreams

I’ve always thought that the one thing missing from the UFC was a pre-fight parade around the octagon with a pipe band.

Last year, Cavan and Armagh decided to get their retaliation in early, as they brawled before their meeting in the Ulster championship.

While Armagh won in the football, Cavan deserve credit for winning the battles on the ground here.

Also, the concept of Royal Rumble-style UFC events are starting to grow on us.

6. International (without) Rules

While Irish sportspeople have long shown their MMA skills in alternative ways, it seems the Australians are even more capable of inadvertently discovering their prowess in the sport.

The International Rules series, particularly in the mid-2000s, was essentially a 30-man brawl broken up with some occasional football.

Sadly, the Aussies had our number here.

7. ROG gets taught how to work the ground

Stuart Barnes called it “a right pasting,” and he’s be right.

We all learn from experience, and we’re sure Ronan O’Gara has worked on his ground work in the years since.

8. The Battle of Pretoria

Isolated fights are a regular occurrence in rugby, but the second test between Ireland and South Africa in Pretoria in 1998 is by some distance the most consistently dirty international of the professional era.

Both the Irish and South African players demonstrated expert kicking, punching and ground work, and the improvisation under pressure shows some natural MMA talents that have all sadly retired.

9. Flannery’s kicking game

Poor Alexis Palisson got sent into next week by Jerry Flannery at the Stade de France in 2010.

The former Munster hooker couldn’t have connected better with the dainty French wing, and could do damage to any MMA fighter with a right foot like that.

Also, bonus marks to the person who mixed in random moments of Bill McLaren commentary to the video.

10. One punch Páidí

Why go the distance when you can just end it with one hit?

That’s good — but none of these Irish sports stars can compare to Conor McGregor.

Watch ‘The Notorious’ fight Chad Mendes for the interim UFC lightweight title on Saturday night live on BT Sport 2, exclusively available in Ireland as part of the Setanta Sports Pack.