User:IxLi3TOxi/sandbox

Tyson Joseph Kouture (born July 14, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. As of August 10, 2015, he is the #5 ranked Light Heavyweight and # ranked pound-for-pound fighter in official UFC rankings.

Background
Conor McGregor was born on 14 July 1988 in Dublin, Ireland. McGregor began his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2008 after leaving his job as a plumber. In 2009, he attended UFC 93 and was so inspired by the experience that he began pursuing a dream, of one day having a career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. McGregor trained under the tutelage of John Kavanagh, the first Irish person to achieve a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and his team at SBG Ireland. McGregor was always fond of fighting and was no stranger to combat sports having already trained in boxing. With his boxing background as a base, he also trained in Taekwondo, Karate, Capoeira, and Kickboxing prior to competing in professional MMA. After his bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 178, Kavanagh promoted McGregor to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt. McGregor trains at SBG alongside fellow UFC fighters such as Cathal Pendred and Gunnar Nelson.

Early career
On 9 March 2008, Conor McGregor made his professional MMA debut at Cage of Truth 2, defeating Gary Morris by second round TKO.

Beginning in 2011, McGregor started an undefeated streak of 13 wins, consisting of one judges' decision, one submission and eleven knockouts/technical knockouts (nine occurring in the first round). During this period McGregor produced one of the fastest recorded knockouts in MMA ending a fight in 4 seconds at Immortal Fighting Championship in Letterkenny, Ireland. In 2012, McGregor won both the CWFC Featherweight and Lightweight titles, making him the first Irish professional MMA fighter to hold titles in three divisions at the same time. This streak resulted in considerable attention on MMA message boards and McGregor rose in the European rankings. This then led to the UFC taking an interest.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
In February 2013, the UFC announced that they had signed McGregor to a multi-fight contract. In joining, McGregor became only the second ever fighter from the Republic of Ireland to compete for the company, following fellow SBG fighter Tom Egan.

On 6 April 2013, McGregor made his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage on the preliminary card of UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi. He was successful in his first bout, winning via TKO just over a minute into the first round. The win also earned McGregor his first Knockout of the Night award.

McGregor was expected to face Andy Ogle on 17 August 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26 However, Ogle pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Max Holloway. McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision. Following the bout with Holloway, an MRI scan revealed that McGregor had torn his ACL during the bout and would require surgery, keeping him out of action for up to ten months. In March 2014, the events surrounding McGregor's fight with Holloway were the main focus of a documentary by Motive Television and SevereMMA.com for Raidió Teilifís Éireann.

McGregor was expected to face Cole Miller on 19 July 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46. However, Miller pulled out of the bout citing a thumb injury and was replaced by Diego Brandão. McGregor won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win also earned McGregor his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

McGregor faced Dustin Poirier on 27 September 2014 at UFC 178. After a build-up filled with argument and hostility between the two, McGregor won the fight via first round TKO, making him the first man to finish Poirier via KO/TKO in a fight. The win also earned McGregor his second straight Performance of the Night bonus award.

McGregor faced Dennis Siver on 18 January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59. McGregor dominated his opponent, winning the one sided fight via TKO in the second round. The win also earned McGregor his third straight Performance of the Night bonus award. After the fight, McGregor jumped off the fence and confronted the UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo.

UFC Interim Featherweight Champion
McGregor was expected to face current champion José Aldo on 11 July 2015 at UFC 189 for the undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship. However, in the days leading up to the fight, Aldo pulled out of the bout because of a rib injury he had sustained in training. McGregor remained on the card and faced UFC ranked #1 contender Chad Mendes for the interim championship. McGregor walked out to the Octagon in front of more than sixteen thousand in attendance as Sinéad O'Connor performed a live rendition of Foggy Dew. McGregor was taken down several times by the All-American wrestler in the first round, but was able to score a second round TKO after getting back up to his feet with 30 seconds left in the round and winning the fight with just 3 seconds left, winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship.

Speaking to Joe Rogan in his post-fight Octagon interview, McGregor said: “I’ve been hearing all the time that I’m protected from this style of opponent, that I’ve been gifted a title shot. So my title shot went running, and they gave me a guy who I was supposed to be protected from, I knew I was going to prove to people that I’m a true fighter. It doesn’t matter who it is. I show up and I’m a professional and I’m confident in my abilities.” Later at the post-fight press conference, he said: “He (Mendes) is certainly the best wrestler in the division. They try and find holes. They try and find questions that I’ve yet to answer. They try and find something that’s gonna break me: the weight cut, the wrestler. There’s always something but I always prevail, and I am always confident that I can take whatever these people give. I can walk through everything.” The victory extended McGregor's Performance of the Night streak to four, while the card drew a record $7.2 million gate and was a new United States record for mixed martial arts. The weigh-ins for the event also proved groundbreaking, with capacity being reached almost thirty minutes before its start time. The 11,500 attendance dwarfed the previous record of 8,000 set by UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II.

McGregor is now expected to face Aldo in a title unification match on 12 December 2015 at UFC 194.

The Ultimate Fighter
Shortly after UFC 189, it was announced that McGregor would be coaching against Urijah Faber in the following season of The Ultimate Fighter. In "U.S. vs. Europe", the twenty-second installment of the reality series, it was confirmed that the coaches would not fight against each other at the show's conclusion, unlike the majority of previous seasons.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Interim UFC Featherweight Championship (One time, current)
 * Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Marcus Brimage
 * Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Diego Brandão, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver and Chad Mendes


 * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
 * CWFC Featherweight Championship (One time)
 * CWFC Lightweight Championship (One time)


 * World MMA Awards
 * 2014 International Fighter of the Year


 * Sherdog
 * 2014 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year


 * Combat Press
 * 2014 Breakout Fighter of the Year


 * MMA Insider
 * 2013 Best UFC Newcomer