Conor McGregor UFC record puts him in the ranks of one of the division’s greatest fighters ever. But, the Irishman has become something even greater than that. Conor McGregor has cemented his place in global sports as an iconic athlete.
You will find a lot of people who can say that they are familiar with McGregor, even though, they don’t know much about MMA and UFC. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that his popularity outranks the entirety of UFC.
How did he become so enormously successful in UFC? In today’s piece, we have chronicled the events that defined McGregor’s remarkable UFC career. If you want to know about Conor McGregor UFC record & legacy in a nutshell, read on-
Conor McGregor UFC Record: 22-4-0
| Result | Method | Fighter | R | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | KO/TKO | Donald Cerrone Vs. Conor McGregor | 1 | 0:40 |
| Loss | Neck Crank | Khabib Nurmagomedov Vs. Conor McGregor | 4 | 3:03 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Eddie Alvarez Vs. Conor Mcgregor | 2 | 3:04 |
| Win | Dec | Nate Diaz Vs. Conor McGregor | 5 | 5:00 |
| Loss | Sub | Nate Diaz Vs. Conor McGregor | 2 | 4:12 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Jose Aldo Vs. Conor McGregor | 1 | 0:13 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Chad Mendes Vs. Conor McGregor | 2 | 4:57 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Dennis Silver Vs. Conor McGregor | 2 | 1:54 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Dustin Poirier Vs. Conor McGregor | 1 | 1:46 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Diego Brandao Vs. Conor McGregor | 1 | 4:05 |
| Win | Dec | Max Holloway Vs. Conor McGregor | 3 | 5:00 |
| Win | KO/TKO | Marcus Brimage Vs. Conor McGregor | 1 | 1:07 |
Before The UFC
McGregor had contemplated pursuing a different occupation at the earliest stage of his professional career. After winning his first two matchups as a lightweight fighter, the Dublin-born decided to try out his luck in the featherweight division.
Unfortunately, his enthusiasm took a massive hit when he lost to Artemij Sitenkov via kneebar. He did go on to win his next featherweight fight, but the easy loss to Sitenkov had made him dubious over his abilities as a fighter.
McGregor’s mother noticed the dilemma her son had been going through. So, she got in touch with John Kavanagh, McGregor’s trainer, and told her about McGregor’s doubts. They both persuaded McGregor to carry on with his MMA pursuits.
From 2011 to 2012, McGregor embarked on an eight-match winning streak. Within this period, he became the CWFC featherweight and lightweight champion. He made history by becoming the first European fighter to win the competition in separate divisions.
UFC president Dana White took a trip to Dublin in February 2013. By then, Conor McGregor had grown into one of the brightest stars in the European MMA scene.
White, who was in Dublin to receive an honorary award from the Trinity College, had heard about McGregor. Ever since he had landed on Irish soil, he was met with countless requests to offer McGregor a UFC contract.
White then had an official meeting with McGregor and felt convinced that he has what it takes to become a UFC superstar. After further discussions with his CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta, White signed McGregor up on a multi-fight deal.
UFC 2013
The announcement came as soon as McGregor put pen on his contract. McGregor was only the second Irishman to sign for UFC after Tom Egan. UFC had scheduled his debut bout against Marcus Brimage on April 6, 2013.
McGregor had an ideal start to his UFC journey. He knocked out Brimage in the first round and won the “Knockout of the Night” award. Then, McGregor started to prepare his next fight on August 17.
McGregor’s scheduled fight would have pitted him against Andy Ogle. But, Ogle had to withdraw from the encounter because of an injury. UFC named Max Holloway as a substitute to fight against McGregor.
McGregor cruised to a unanimous decision victory as he outscored Holloway in all three rounds. But, his joy was shortlived when an MRI scan afterwards the match exposed a tear in McGregor’s ACL. He had to undergo surgery and remain sidelined for ten months.
UFC 2014
UFC marked 19 July 2014 for McGregor’s comeback event, with the former CWFC champion paired up with Cole Miller. But, McGregor had a last-minute change in opposition, as Miller had to cancel due to a thumb problem.
Diego Brandao was named as the new fighter to face McGregor in front of a 9500 Dublin audience. McGregor made full use of his home ground advantage and won the tie within 4 minutes of the first round.
Starting with an unbeaten run, Connor McGregor drew the UFC limelight soon. Right after his win against Brandao, UFC renewed his contract. Dustin Poirier was the next in line to face McGregor. But, he could do little to stop McGregor’s hot streak.
UFC 178 stood witness to another effortless McGregor win as he bulldozed Poirier. He finished the tie in the first run again and handed Poirier his first career TKO. Poirier never went out on a KO or TKO before that fight.
McGreggor had won the ‘’Performance of the Night’’ award for both of his post-injury victories.
UFC 2015
McGregor started the year with another win as he got the best of Dennis Siver on January 18, 2015. McGregor executed a second-round TKO to bag another resounding victory.
He also won the “Performance of the Night” award for the third successive time.
Afterwards, McGregor set his sights on the UFC featherweight championship. Less than two weeks after McGregor’s win over Siver, UFC announced that McGregor and Jose Aldo would face off in the UFC 189. The winner would snatch the UFC featherweight belt.
The date of the fight was set on 11 July 2015. MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada would house the event. After the announcement, UFC stepped up the promotional campaign of the fight.
Fans considered the bout to be one of the most high profile ones in MMA history.
As part of the promotion, Aldo and McGregor went out on a 12-day tour across the globe. Throughout their tour, they had landed on nine cities, including the hometowns of both fighters (Dublin and Rio de Janeiro).
Unfortunately, Aldo couldn’t keep his commitment to take part in the fight.
On June 23, less than a month before UFC 189, Aldo fractured his ribs. Consequently, he was ruled out of the fight.
Interim Featherweight Championship’s Chad Mendes came out as the new opposition for McGregor. Despite the late change in the fixture, the attendance record got shattered, as 16, 019 people flocked inside the arena.
In the ring, Mendes couldn’t produce something special to bring an end to McGregor’s dominance.
The jam-packed MGM Grand Arena audience relished a Conor McGregor TKO win, which made him the UFC interim featherweight champion.
Featherweight Championship Unification Bout
A couple of weeks after McGregor’s interim featherweight title haul, UFC announced Jose Aldo would challenge Conor McGregor later that year. The featherweight championship bout finally took place on December 12.
Even though the anticipation somewhat dried up compared to the original matchup, the bout drew massive PPV interest. But, McGregor settled the duel in a matter of 13 seconds (one of the UFC fastest knockouts) with a KO and took the featherweight belt home.
UFC Year 2016
After winning the featherweight title convincingly, Conor McGregor expressed his ambitions to climb up the weight ranks.
He was successful in both featherweight and lightweight classes in Europe, so he wanted to have a go at the UFC lightweight title too.
UFC granted his wish and set him up with a lightweight bout with Rafael dos Anjos. The winner would stake a claim to the UFC lightweight championship belt. But, dos Anjos had to pull out with a broken foot.
The organization then approached several fighters from different weight divisions. UFC also asked Jose Aldo to come back for another title shot with McGregor.
But, the Brazilian turned down the offer citing a lack of preparation.
With only 13 days before the fight, UFC officially confirmed that Nate Diaz would rival McGregor for lightweight glory.
Diaz was the winner of UFC’s Ultimate Fighter season 5, and also had the experience to challenge for the lightweight title in the past.
But, the contest had to undergo a weight class change in the next few days. Diaz was well above the 155lbs lightweight class limit.
So, McGregor agreed to contest at a higher weight division and transformed the fight into a welterweight challenge.
Up until that point, McGregor had a stellar UFC fight record. But, such an abrupt upgrade in weight classes felt rushed. However, McGregor remained adamant to fight and continued to prep for the showdown.
During the pre-match conferences, McGregor and Diaz exchanged insults. Things escalated between the two and resulted in a mini scuffle before the game. While this was an actual turn of events, or a stunt to drive up crowd interest remains a mystery to this day.
McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
The fight kicked off with McGregor repeatedly changing his stance to deny Diaz a clear shot. Simultaneously, he was trying to work out the correct angle to deliver his trademark left cross. McGregor drew first blood with a series of successful combos.
In the later stages of the first half, Nate tried a signature move of his own. Well, I should say that he borrowed it from his brother Nick Diaz.
He blew two swift hooks at McGregor, before surprising him with the Diaz family special trick the ‘’Stockton Slap’’.
After an even first half, the start of the second half indicated another balanced affair between the two fighters. Diaz kept McGregor busy with his right-hand hooks.
While McGregor continued to dodge those with success, the frequent movement started to wear him out.
He attempted a double leg takedown, but Diaz sprawled and sublimely neutralized the threat. Diaz then tried the guillotine choke and fired a round of punches at McGregor.
As a desperate attempt to move away Conor exposed his back and played into Diaz’s hands.
It was the perfect opening for a rear-naked choke, and Diaz took it. And in 4:12, McGregor began to thump the canvas, asking for a submission. The unthinkable had finally happened! Conor McGregor had lost his first UFC bout.
McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II
McGregor got a chance at redemption as he managed to secure a second meeting with Nate Diaz a few months later. But, UFC banned McGregor from the bout citing he had not completed his media responsibilities before the fight.
The organizers pushed the July 9 event a month back at UFC 202. As before, the participants contested in the welterweight division. This time, the fight went in favor of McGregor as he won the fight in a majority decision.
First Double Champ In UFC History
At last, Conor McGregor fulfilled his dream to fight for UFC lightweight honor. The featherweight champion defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. In doing so, he became the first UFC fighter to hold two weight class titles simultaneously.
UFC Year 2017
After the historic UFC 205 win, McGregor took a break from MMA to spend more time with his family. McGregor wasn’t involved with any UFC action this year. However, he contested Floyd Mayweather in a high-voltage boxing match, which he had lost in the 10th round.
UFC Year 2018
Due to his inactivity in the division, McGregor lost his lightweight title. He fought Khabib Nurmagomedov to win back the UFC lightweight belt at UFC 229. But, he failed to defeat his Russian counterpart and fell to a fourth-round submission.
UFC Year 2019
Conor McGregor announced his retirement. However, UFC president Dana White suggested it was a ruse to ask for a share of his company. Later that year, McGregor declared that he would return for a Khabib rematch.
UFC Year 2020
Even though a rematch with his Russian nemesis was still not on the cards, McGregor broke his retirement. At UFC 2020, he met Donald Cerrone in the UFC welterweight division and knocked him out in 40 seconds. While a certain Jorge Masvidal looked on from the crowd
Months after that fight, McGregor went to retirement once again.
Is Conor Mcgregor UFC Record Finished?
So it begs the question, how badly does Conor still want it? Floyd Mayweather received three hundred and fifty million for his bout with Conor. Conor received one hundred million dollars, Not bad for a night’s work.
A smart move would be to retire and stay retired. No fighter is unassailable, but l don’t see a defeat in Khabib’s near future. That’s the only fight the public wants to see Conor in, is the Khabib rematch.
Conclusion
We don’t know whether or not, Conor McGregor would reconsider his retirement once again. But, what we do know for a fact is that the UFC has lost glamour without his absence.
Interestingly the famous New York DJ raised a brilliant point; “Conor you hit an old man with your famous left hand and couldn’t even knock him off his barstool if you can’t knock an old man off his bar stool, how do you expect to win against Khabib Nurmagomedov?
“Conor you hit an old man with your famous left hand and couldn’t even knock him off his bar stool”
Which leads us nicely to Conor’s motivation, the Dublin fighter waxes lyrical of his love for the fight game. Even before the loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC President Dana White proselytized that Conor would never fight again after the Mayweather fight. “Conor’s got a hundred million dollars in the bank, how much motivation would you have to get kicked in the face if you had a hundred million dollars in the bank…?
Conor McGregor has elevated himself to such a height that even the adjective “legend” feels like an underwhelming word to describe his legacy and influence in modern MMA.
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