5 Greatest Conor McGregor fights

The fight between McGregor and Mayweather broke many records
The fight between McGregor and Mayweather broke many records

Conor McGregor has been synonymous with Mixed Martial Arts for quite some time now. In fact, it is safe to say that he is the biggest star in MMA at the moment. He has been responsible for a large portion of the mainstream attention that the sport has been getting recently.

And this magnitude is likely to rise the next time McGregor steps into the cage as well. While we don’t know when and where he will fight next, we can always take a look back into the career that he has had so far.

In his decade long-career, McGregor was involved in numerous memorable fights which not only changed the course of the UFC but also broke multiple records. From his early days in Local Irish promotions to his record-breaking run in the UFC, we will be trying to list out five of the biggest fights in Conor McGregor’s career. So without further ado, here goes.


#5 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1

Conor McGregor suffered his first defeat in the UFC against Nate Diaz
Conor McGregor suffered his first defeat in the UFC against Nate Diaz

UFC 196 was one of the biggest turning points in the career of Conor McGregor. He was initially supposed to fight Rafael Dos Anjos at the event but Dos Anjos later pulled out due to an injury. Nate Diaz then stepped up to take the fight on short notice and it was subsequently booked as a Welterweight fight between Conor and Nate.

McGregor came into the match on the back of his iconic 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo and everyone expected him to get the better of Diaz as well.

But much to the surprise of everyone, Diaz managed to pull out a huge surprise and submitted McGregor in the second round via a rear-naked choke. McGregor’s professional MMA record went to 19-3 after this loss and it also marked his first loss in the UFC.

Although it was a defeat on paper, the fight gave a huge boost to the net worth of Conor McGregor and it broke multiple pay-per-view records as well.

#4 Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez

McGregor became the Lightweight champion by defeating Eddie Alvarez
McGregor became the Lightweight champion by defeating Eddie Alvarez

The fight between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez took place at UFC 205, just after McGregor’s second fight against Nate Diaz. It was UFC’s first event to be held in New York City and Dana White left no stone unturned when putting together the fight card.

The showdown between McGregor and Alvarez was the headliner of the night and as expected, the fight delivered big time. McGregor produced a highlight reel performance at the event and stopped Alvarez in the second round via punches. It was a huge surprise to many fans who tuned in as Alvarez was getting bullied by McGregor throughout the fight.

Nevertheless, the win marked McGregor’s rise as the UFC Lightweight champion and by winning the title, he also became a two-division champion as he was already holding the Featherweight title.

Just like most of McGregor’s other fights in the list, this one also broke many UFC records and turned out to be a huge boost to McGregor’s net worth.

#3 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2

The second fight between McGregor and Diaz was a huge hit for the UFC
The second fight between McGregor and Diaz was a huge hit for the UFC

After his loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, McGregor seemed desperate to level the scores. He immediately pushed for a rematch with Diaz and got just that at UFC 202. The event was held on August 20, 2016, in Las Vegas and was fought at Welterweight just like the first showdown between Diaz and McGregor.

However, unlike the first time around, this fight went the distance. McGregor and Diaz had a to-and-fro battle for five rounds and in the end, McGregor was announced as the winner via a majority decision.

Though many fans still have polarising opinions about this fight, on paper, it still counts as a win for McGregor. It improved his MMA stats to 20-3 while his UFC record was improved to 8-1. Also, by defeating Diaz, McGregor set up a historic trilogy fight which is yet to materialize.

As for the numbers, it was the most-bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buy rate of 1.6 million.

#2 Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib won against McGregor via a neck crank
Khabib won against McGregor via a neck crank

After a gap of two years from the Octagon, Conor McGregor returned to the UFC in October 2018 when he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. The build-up to the fight was filled with controversies and dirty vocal battles which saw both McGregor and Khabib trade barbs.

And since the fight came after McGregor’s battle with Floyd Mayweather, there was extra mainstream attention directed towards this fight. Khabib’s undefeated record was another major factor that made this showdown interesting.

Everyone wanted to see how McGregor would do against the undefeated Russian who has a history of training with bears. Khabib vs. McGregor was one for the ages.

The match managed to live up to the hype as well. It lasted four rounds with Khabib getting the upper hand in most of them. In the end, he managed to make McGregor tap out via a neck crank in the fourth round and became the UFC Lightweight champion.

A brawl ensued after the fight which further escalated the situation between McGregor and Khabib. The rivalry is still pretty much open and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if we see a rematch between these two in the near future.

#1 Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The fight with Floyd Mayweather was the biggest fight in McGregor's career
The fight with Floyd Mayweather was the biggest fight in McGregor's career

Not including Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather in this list would be a crime. Although it isn’t technically an MMA fight, it is a Conor McGregor fight after all. Also, in terms of revenue generated, it is hands down the biggest Conor McGregor fight till date.

It was the first professional boxing match for McGregor while Mayweather was stepping into the ring for the 50th time. It was a collision of two worlds in short and both McGregor and Mayweather did their part to make it the biggest sporting event of the year.

They did a world tour prior to the fight to build the hype and traded some interesting vocal jabs. It all helped to create a buzz among the combat sports fans and guaranteed huge sums for both the fighters.

In front of nearly 15,000 fans, Mayweather managed to knock out McGregor in the 10th round of the fight and became the owner of the longest active unbeaten streak in professional boxing.

Mayweather reportedly earned more than $300 million for the fight whereas McGregor apparently got more than $100 million. Compared to what he used to fight for in the UFC, it was a huge leap for McGregor and his net worth.


Which fight did we miss out and which one didn’t belong on the list? Let us know in the comments below.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram