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Top 10 Greatest Conor McGregor Fights In UFC History
BY SACNILK
Conor "The Notorious One" McGregor is a former 2 division UFC Champion with a professional MMA record of 22 wins and 6 losses. Conor is currently ranked #12 in the UFC Lightweight Rankings. Mcgregor is the first fighter in UFC history to hold 2 division titles at the same time. ## Conor McGregor debuted in the UFC at UFC on Fuel TV 9 against Marcus Brimage. He would win the fight in the first round via TKO punches. McGregor would build on his momentum as he defeated the likes of Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier before getting a title shot against Jose Aldo at UFC 189. ## He is the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) draw in MMA history, having headlined five out of the six highest-selling UFC pay-per-view events. His bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 drew 2.4 million PPV buys, the most ever for an MMA event. ## Let's Check Out Top 5 Conor McGregor Fights: ## #10. Vs. Max Holloway At UFC Fight Night 26 ## McGregor was expected to face Andy Ogle on 17 August 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26, but Ogle pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by eventual UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway.[35] McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–26). ## Following the bout with Holloway, an MRI scan revealed that McGregor had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the bout and would require surgery, keeping him out of action for up to ten months. ## #9. Vs. Dustin Poirier At UFC 178 ## McGregor faced Dustin Poirier on 27 September 2014 at UFC 178. Despite McGregor landing 9 significant strikes to Poirier's 10, he managed to secure a victory early on in the first round, by pressuring Poirier onto his back foot, before exploding with a left hook behind Poirier's ear, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in. ## The finish officially came at 1:46 into the first round. This marked Poirier's first UFC loss via KO/TKO, and earned McGregor his second straight "Performance of the Night" award. ## #8. Vs. Chad Mendes At UFC 189 ## The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between the then champion José Aldo and Conor McGregor. On June 23, it was reported that Aldo suffered a rib fracture and pulled out of the bout in light of the injury. However, McGregor remained on the card and was rescheduled to face Chad Mendes for the Interim Featherweight Championship. ## The official attendance for the event, 16,019, broke the record in Nevada, while the gate of $7,200,000 broke the record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States. McGregor won the fight via TKO, winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship. ## #7. Vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 202 ## McGregor faced Diaz in a rematch at UFC 202. McGregor won the rematch via majority decision (48–47, 47–47, and 48–47). The bout was once again awarded "Fight of the Night" honours. The event broke the record previously held by UFC 100 for the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history, with 1,650,000 buys. ## #6. Vs. Nate Diaz At UFC 196 ## McGregor faced The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner, and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Nate Diaz on 5 March 2016 at UFC 196 in a welterweight bout. McGregor tapped to the submission at 4:12 into the second round. ## Both competitors were awarded "Fight of the Night" bonuses, and McGregor received the highest disclosed purse of any fighter in the history of the company to that point, at $1,000,000. ## #5. Vs. José Aldo At UFC 194 ## McGregor faced José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 194. McGregor knocked out Aldo thirteen seconds into the first round with a left hook, snapping his seven-year-long WEC and UFC title reign and eighteen-fight win streak to claim the title, earning the "Performance of the Night" bonus as well. This finish marked the fastest knockout in a title bout in UFC history. ## #4. Vs. Eddie Alvarez At UFC 205 ## McGregor faced Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 12 November at UFC 205. After dropping Alvarez multiple times throughout the first round, McGregor landed a multiple-punch combination to stop his opponent via technical knockout in the second round. ## This result marked the first time a competitor had held UFC championships in two different weight classes, and also repeated McGregor's feat during his career at Cage Warriors. It is widely considered one of McGregor's best performances inside the octagon. ## #3. Vs. Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 ## After over a year away from the Octagon, McGregor faced Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout on 18 January 2020 at UFC 246. He won the fight via technical knockout 40 seconds into the first round. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award. ## The win made McGregor the first UFC fighter to hold knockout finishes in the featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight divisions. On 6 June 2020, McGregor announced once more that he was retiring from fighting. ## #2. Vs. Dustin Poirier At UFC 257 ## Despite talks of retirement, McGregor was booked to face former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Dustin Poirier in a rematch of their 2014 bout at UFC 257 on 24 January 2021. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round, marking the first knockout loss in his career. McGregor was later handed a 6–month medical suspension after the knockout. ## #1. Khabib Nurmagomedov At UFC 229 ## McGregor returned to the octagon for the first time since November 2016 at UFC 229 to challenge the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 6 October. This bout was considered one of the biggest contests in the history of the sport and it was filled with pre-fight hype. Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor with a neck crank in the fourth round. ## To stay updated with all the latest combat sports news, add Sacnilk.com to your Google News feeds and follow us on Twitter.
