5 Best Conor McGregor UFC fights

Conor McGregor is, without a doubt, the biggest combat sports star on the planet right now.

His ascent up the rankings in the UFC, where he claimed gold in two divisions, as well as last year’s money-spinning boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather, have transformed the Irishman from relative unknown to household name in just a few short years.

Such has been the rapid nature of McGregor’s meteoric rise, it’s easy to forget that not long ago the Irishman's name was practically unknown outside the European MMA scene.

Here, we take a look at the 5 UFC fights that made him the megastar he is today…

#1 Dustin Poirier

After putting himself on the featherweight map with victories in his first three UFC contests, McGregor was handed his first real test in Dustin Poirier at UFC 178.

In the lead up to the bout, McGregor ratcheted up the trash-talk to get under the skin of his rival, and the SBG fighter consistently predicted a first-round knockout – which he duly delivered.

The ‘Notorious One’ came out swinging right off the bat, opening his attack with a lead hook kick, which gave an indication as to how confident McGregor was feeling.

The Dubliner stalked his opponent, who was on the back foot immediately, and a couple minutes into the contest McGregor caught Poirier with a straight left behind the ear. The punch dropped the American, and that was all he wrote as McGregor pounced, ending the bout clinically with hammerfists.

McGregor had truly arrived, and featherweight had a new contender. His “mystic Mac” persona was also born, as he’d made good on his prediction of a first-round finish.

#2 Chad Mendes

After McGregor saw Jose Aldo pull out of their scheduled title-fight due to a rib injury, it was announced Chad Mendes was to step in on less than two weeks’ notice to face the Dubliner for the interim featherweight belt.

With McGregor’s ground game seen as his main weakness, the decision to take a short-notice fight with Mendes - arguably the division’s best wrestler - was seen as a brave one.

And so it proved.

The bout started well for Conor, as he used his array of striking techniques to keep Mendes at bay, repeatedly attacking the body which allowed him to stay out of takedown range.

But, midway through the first round, Mendes started to get inside and once the Team Alpha Male fighter closed the distance he was able to initiate clinches and score a takedown, which he used to land some good ground-and-pound, eventually opening up a cut on McGregor’s eye.

The second round started as the last had ended, with Mendes managing a takedown and using top position to score some ground-and-pound, however, a guillotine attempt allowed McGregor to scramble and as the fight returned to the feet Conor realised he needed to up the pace – which he did.

‘Notorious’ started to pepper the body once again, and as the strike count increased, Mendes began to wilt. With ‘Money’ backed up against the cage, McGregor landed a flurry of laser-like straight lefts which sent Mendes crashing to the canvas, and following a few more shots the referee was forced to intervene and wave the fight over.

With the victory over Mendes, McGregor now had the interim belt and a ticket for the next shot at undisputed champion Jose Aldo. But, perhaps, more importantly, he’d not only proven he could get past an accomplished wrestler, but he'd shown he can overcome adversity after coming back from some sticky moments in his toughest UFC test to date.

#3 Nate Diaz

UFC 202: Diaz v McGregor 2

After tasting defeat in his first meeting with Nate Diaz, McGregor had a shot at redemption at UFC 202.

In the first bout back at UFC 197, Diaz did the unthinkable and roughed up the Irishman before choking him out in one of the biggest upsets in recent times. Diaz had exposed shortcomings in Conor’s game – mainly a lack of conditioning, and a deficiency in the grappling department – but McGregor was determined to get this one back and he demanded the immediate rematch.

Once again McGregor came flying out the traps, this time dropping Diaz multiple times in the opening rounds. But unlike in the first fight where McGregor described being "inefficient" with his energy, the Irishman wasn’t over-committing to his shots, instead of picking them more carefully with one eye on the gas tank that had deserted him last around.

McGregor continued to find a home for that venomous left hand, but once again Diaz seemed unperturbed, and the Stockton fighter continued to come forward with the same relentless pace that saw McGregor’s cardio crumble when they went at it a few months earlier.

As the minutes’ ticked by, Diaz was beginning to drag McGregor into deeper and deeper water, with the Californian unleashing a barrage of strikes, particularly in rounds 3 and 5.

As the final round drew to a close and the fight went to the scorecards, it was anybody’s guess who’d get the judges’ nod.

UFC 202: Diaz v McGregor 2 — Both men think they've done enough

In the end, they scored it 48-47 48-47 47-47 in favour of McGregor, but in fairness to Diaz the fight was extremely close, and on another night he may have walked away with the victory. However, this time McGregor had done what he needed to and he’d levelled the score 1-1 with his new-found foe.

With this victory, McGregor had once again displayed tremendous courage by climbing back in there with the guy that had defeated him quite handily only a few months earlier. The ship was righted, and it was on to Alvarez for the lightweight title.

#2 Jose Aldo

After defeating Chad Mendes for the interim title, the stage was set at UFC 194 for a unification showdown with long-standing featherweight king Jose Aldo.

With their first meeting cancelled just a few weeks out due to an injury to Aldo, another press tour meant the two rivals had been on promotional duties for the best part of a year.

But although plenty of hours had been spent marketing the fight, McGregor didn't waste much time once the cage door closed. After a couple of tentative shots, Aldo came rushing forward, over-extending on a right hand, which Conor countered, landing a flush left hook that sent the Brazilian tumbling to the mat. A couple of hammer-fists later and that was that.

UFC 194: Jose Aldo v Conor McGregor — The punch that earned McGregor the featherweight belt and ended Aldo's reign

The featherweight division had a new ruler - for now at least - and Aldo's reign was over. 13 seconds is all it took for McGregor to put an end to 'Scarface's' 11-year unbeaten run.

With fans expecting an all-out war following the bad blood in the build-up, the swift ending left some feeling short-changed. However, the ruthlessness of McGregor's performance was something to behold, and the victory is currently the fastest knockout in UFC tile-fight history.

#1 Eddie Alvarez

At UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden - the UFC's first event in New York following the sport's legalisation in the state a few months earlier - McGregor had the chance to make history by becoming the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold two belts simultaneously.

Standing in his way was lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who had defeated former champion Rafael Dos Anjos in spectacular fashion just a few months before.

Alvarez, a pressure fighter with excellent cardio and good wrestling, was said to be a bad style match-up for McGregor, who had struggled with the similar high-tempo, in-your-face approach of Nate Diaz only a few fights earlier.

But this was a different McGregor. On his way to the Octagon, the Irishman cut a confident figure, his face a picture of composure despite the fact he was about to take part in the biggest fight of his life in front of a sold out MSG.

Right from the off, McGregor had Alvarez's timing down to a tee. Whenever the American swung, Conor was out the way and countering with that formidable left hand. When the bell rang for the end of the first round, Alvarez - who had been dropped no less than three times - was lucky to hear it, however, the fight wouldn't last much longer.

A couple minutes into the second stanza, McGregor countered with a beautiful four-punch combo that dropped his opponent once more, forcing referee John McCarthy to intervene to prevent the beleaguered Alvarez suffering any more unnecessary punishment.

McGregor had done it. He'd made history by becoming the UFC's first double-champion and he'd done it in style. The new champ-champ had made an elite fighter in Eddie Alvarez look like an amateur, and on the biggest stage of all in the world's most iconic arena he'd put on his best performance to date.

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