Conor McGregor: The truth behind his 3 MMA losses

Conor McGregor, irrespective of whether your love or hate him, is without a doubt one of the most influential personalities in the world of sports and entertainment today. The Notorious One who so very often prides himself on being the greatest fighter to have ever walked the face of God's green earth, is in actuality not invincible.

Now, while the aforementioned statement may not come as a surprise of any kind to the seasoned combat sports enthusiast, the fact remains that McGregor is notorious (pun intended) for marketing himself as an unbeatable wrecking machine who promises to run through each and every one of his rivals inside the arena of truth, that is the Mixed Martial Arts cage.

A key factor which enables McGregor to keep promoting himself as an unbeatable mythical figure in the MMA realm is his proneness of strongly asserting the famed theory--"Win or Learn". In simple terms, should the quick-witted Irishman find himself on the losing end of the equation in an MMA contest, he swiftly switches over from his braggadocios persona to that of a more humble version of himself.

Today, we are going to be uncovering the truth behind Conor McGregor's 3 losses in professional Mixed Martial Arts competition. Our aim is not only to examine what led to said losses, but also the loss in and of itself; as well as the aftermath of the defeats...

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#3 Conor McGregor vs. Artemij Sitenkov: Cage of Truth 3 (June 28th, 2008)

This bout between Conor McGregor and Artemij Sitenkov was contested at Featherweight, and witnessed Sitenkov hand McGregor the latter's first career loss as an MMA pro. The lead-up to the bout saw McGregor come in on the back of a couple of TKO victories courtesy his heavy hands.

Truth be told, even in the early stages of his career, McGregor's boxing and KO power were indeed unquestionable. McGregor started out the fight aggressive, however, Sitenkov clinched up almost immediately and pulled guard--taking the fight to the ground.

McGregor notably landed several strikes as part of his seemingly relentless ground-and-pound strategy against Sitenkov who was on the bottom. Regardless, the latter defended well and never quite allowed McGregor to generate power in his ground strikes...Sitenkov then hunted for a leg-lock and got it after having to eat a few hammer-fists at the hands of The Notorious One.

Furthermore, McGregor got a tad reckless while trying to finish his opponent with ground-and-pound--subsequently opening himself up to the knee-bar that Sitenkov used to trap and tap out McGregor within the very first round. Honestly speaking, McGregor went on to take this loss a bit too hard, as Sitenkov recently revealed to TMZ Sports that Conor was in tears after losing his first pro MMA bout.

Nevertheless, crying after one's first MMA loss isn't exactly unheard of even at the highest levels of the sport, and one simply cannot overlook the fact that McGregor was a 19-year-old MMA rookie at the time...

#2 Conor McGregor vs. Joseph Duffy: Cage Warriors 39: The Uprising (27th November, 2010)

This matchup marked Conor McGregor's Lightweight debut, and saw him lose by submission via an arm-triangle choke. His opponent Joseph Duffy who, much like McGregor eventually went on to compete in the UFC, was incredibly cautious when it came to engaging with the heavy-handed Notorious One in the pocket.

McGregor kept pressuring Duffy against the fence, before the latter landed a beautifully-timed low single leg takedown--dragging McGregor to the mat. Duffy transitioned to side control and then almost immediately locked up the arm-triangle choke--forcing McGregor to tap and ending the bout in Round 1.

A similar pattern in both of McGregor's losses was that he got a bit too wild when it came to the grappling realm, and needless to say, paid a heavy price. In the fights that followed, McGregor would eventually tone down his flailing grappling movements and choose to adhere to the basics of BJJ and wrestling. The discipline which these losses instilled in Conor McGregor would prove to a blessing in disguise for him in his UFC 189 fight against Chad Mendes for the Interim UFC Featherweight title.

Despite being taken down to the mat by Mendes, McGregor stayed calm and refrained from flailing like a fish out of water--unlike his fights against Sitenkov and Duffy. McGregor would go on to stop Mendes by way of strikes--and the rest, as they say, is history...

#1 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz: UFC 196 (March 5th, 2016)

Unquestionably Conor McGregor's most infamous MMA defeat, his stoppage loss at the hands of arch-rival Nate Diaz at UFC 196 is till date one of the most talked-about matches in Mixed Martial Arts history. While McGregor would eventually avenge his loss to Diaz--earning a majority decision victory over the latter at UFC 202--their first encounter shall forever be etched in the history books as one of the iconic showdowns in combat sports.

McGregor started off the fight at a fast pace--tagging Diaz at will and bloodying up the latter. However, McGregor's explosive style of footwork which helped him hit and avoid getting hit by his opponent early would eventually prove to be his downfall as the Irishman's gas tank seemed to run out in Round 2.

Diaz began landing several slaps and straight punches in the second round, with the odd hooks being exchanged as well. He'd then go on to tag McGregor with a beautiful 1-2 (jab-straight) right on the latter's chin. The aforementioned combination rocked McGregor and what followed was a barrage of punches, elbows and of course a good dose of "Stockton Slaps" from one of Stockton, California's finest--Nathan Donald Diaz.

A gassed and badly wobbled McGregor shot in for a desperation single-leg takedown, only to be sprawled upon by Diaz. The latter went on to secure the mount position on McGregor, before eventually taking his back and tapping out The Notorious One with a rear-naked choke.

Unlike McGregor's 2 prior losses, this fight witnessed him getting hurt in the striking exchanges before being dominated in the grappling department. Nevertheless, McGregor learned from his mistakes and faced Diaz in the rematch at UFC 202--out-working the latter whilst being "efficient with his energy" and refraining from mindlessly chasing the knockout.

In a nutshell, even his biggest detractors would find it nigh impossible to discredit Conor McGregor--especially as regards him learning from his losses.