5 times Conor McGregor proved he's among the most courageous UFC fighters ever

#4. McGregor had everything to lose at UFC 194

The UFC, and indeed MMA, have never seen trash-talking at the level it was introduced to during the lead-up to the UFC 194. Conor McGregor entered the UFC with a blistering knockout over Marcus Brimage before disparaging the skills and height of every fighter in the featherweight division. It felt like a declaration of war on an entire weight class.

By the time he'd earned a title fight against the then reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor had the attention of the entire world. A division full of enemies that the Irishman had mocked and needled without mercy awaited what they hoped would be a humbling defeat at the hands of Aldo.

For the bout, the UFC embarked on a world tour, during which McGregor heightened the intensity of his trash talk.

Aldo, who at the time was often regarded with reverence by every other featherweight, was stunned by the Irishman's brash behavior. The sheer volume of trash-talking and maddening promises 'The Notorious' made of an all-conquering performance at UFC 194 placed an enormous amount of pressure on his shoulders.

A loss to Aldo would have sent the Irishman tumbling down the featherweight rankings as the "jester" or "joker" that many featherweights had come to describe him as.

There would have been no return from it given the unbelievable heights of the trash talk he'd leveled at Aldo. UFC 194 was a make-or-break moment for Conor McGregor and he faced it without fear.

He knocked out Aldo — who had reigned as the featherweight champion for almost half a decade and was on an unbeaten run almost twice as long — in 13 seconds. While Aldo lost, his legacy remains unquestioned.

Had McGregor lost, however, his legacy would've been over before it could have even started, yet he dared to put everything on the line nonetheless.

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#3. He moved up in weight to challenge the champion in the division above

While champions challenging title-holders in the division above them in a bid to capture a second championship belt has become more commonplace in the UFC today, it was an exceeding rarity a few years ago.

It all began with McGregor. After doing the impossible and defeating Jose Aldo in inimitable fashion to capture the UFC featherweight championship, Conor McGregor quickly set his sights on the UFC lightweight championship.

At the time, the reigning lightweight champion was Rafael dos Anjos, who, like Aldo, seemed unstoppable after dominating Anthony Pettis and crushing Donald Cerrone within a minute of the first round.

McGregor challenged 'RDA' nonetheless, with even UFC President Dana White expressing his doubts over the Irishman's ability to overcome a monster like the Brazilian lightweight.

When Dos Anjos withdrew from the matchup due to injury, McGregor faced Nate Diaz, to whom he lost. After avenging the loss, he challenged the new lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, another wrestler many expected to prey on Conor McGregor's perceived weakness to wrestling.

At the time, many fighters spoke about moving up a division to challenge the reigning champion. Jon Jones has famously been talking about challenging himself at heavyweight for over a decade now. McGregor didn't merely talk about doing so, he actually did so, and succeeded.