User:Kman1011/sandbox

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Devin Terrel Clark' ([English LangauageEnglish]]: ''Devin “Brown Bear” Clark was one of two fighters signed by the UFC from the sixth episode of Lookin’ For A Fight. Fighting at light heavyweight during the show, Dana White signed the 26-year-old, but suggested he moved down to the middleweight division for his UFC debut. Making his first walk to the Octagon for the UFC Fight Night 91 card, Clark tasted his first ever professional defeat, losing to Alex Nicholson via KO in the dying seconds of the first round.

In 2008, McGregor started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career and, in 2012, he won both the Cage Warriors Featherweight and Lightweight Championships, holding both titles concurrently before vacating them to sign with the UFC. In 2015, at UFC 194, McGregor defeated José Aldo for the featherweight championship via knockout after thirteen seconds in the first round. This was the fastest victory in UFC title fight history. Upon defeating Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship, at UFC 205, McGregor became the first fighter in UFC's history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.

He is known for being the biggest pay-per-view draw in MMA, as well as his extravagant lifestyle and trash talking.

Early life
McGregor was born in Dublin, Ireland to Tony and Margaret McGregor. He was raised in the South Dublin suburb of Crumlin and attended a Gaelscoil and Gaelcholáiste at both primary and at secondary level in Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght, where he also developed his passion for sport playing association football. In his youth, he played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club.

As a youth, McGregor took up kickboxing and at the age of 12, he began boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club under two-time Olympian Phil Sutcliffe where he often trained alongside Dean Byrne and Jamie Kavanagh, both of whom went on to train at Wild Card Gym under Freddie Roach. McGregor later became an All-Ireland boxing champion at the youth level.

In 2006, McGregor moved with his family to Lucan in West Dublin, attending Gaelcholáiste Coláiste Cois Life. Following that, he commenced a plumbing apprenticeship. While in Lucan, he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and they soon started training mixed martial arts (MMA) together.

Amateur mixed martial arts career
On 17 February 2007, at the age of 18, McGregor made his mixed martial arts debut, in an amateur fight against Kieran Campbell for the Irish Ring of Truth promotion in Dublin. He was victorious via technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. Following the fight, he turned professional and was signed by the Irish Cage of Truth promotion. In 2008, McGregor began training at the Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Dublin under John Kavanagh.

Professional mixed martial arts career
On 9 March 2008, McGregor had his first professional MMA bout, as a lightweight, defeating Gary Morris with a second-round TKO. After McGregor won his second fight against Mo Taylor, he made his featherweight debut in a loss via submission against Artemij Sitenkov. After a victory at featherweight in his next bout against Stephen Bailey, McGregor contemplated a different career path before his mother contacted his coach John Kavanagh and reinvigorated him to continue pursuing mixed martial arts.

McGregor then won his next fight, also at featherweight, against Connor Dillon, before moving back to lightweight for a fight against Joseph Duffy where he received his second professional loss after submitting to an arm-triangle choke. Following this, during 2011 and 2012, McGregor went on an eight-fight win streak, during which he won both the CWFC Featherweight and Lightweight championships, making him the first European professional mixed martial artist to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. In February 2013, UFC president Dana White made a trip to Dublin, Ireland to receive a Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from Trinity College and was inundated with requests to sign McGregor to the UFC. After a meeting with McGregor, and talking with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, White offered him a contract days later.

UFC Debut
In February 2013, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced that they had signed McGregor to a multi-fight contract. In joining, McGregor became only the second fighter from Ireland to compete for the company, following fellow SBG team member 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. Brimage began the fight aggressively, meeting McGregor in the middle of the octagon before launching a flurry of strikes to push him back. McGregor, repeatedly throwing a counter left hook, found little success with his initial striking. After ascertaining that Brimage was susceptible to a snap kick directed at his chest and chin, McGregor began to employ a looping left hand uppercut, throwing every time Brimage would move forward into striking range. These uppercuts grounded Brimage shortly after McGregor started to utilise them. The bout was stopped 1:07 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, but Ogle pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Max Holloway. McGregor bewildered Holloway with his unusual boxing technique, and his incorporation of a wide variety of taekwondo kicks, many of which are not used in MMA to a significant degree. McGregor was able to control the striking range by utilising long, non-committal low side kicks to Holloway's knee and shin, and initiate combinations by leaping in with switch and bicycle kicks. When the fight was brought to the ground, McGregor maintained top control, performing various positional advances, and mitigating his opponent's offense on the ground. McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 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. 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 in 2014, entitled "The Notorious".

Return after injury
McGregor was expected to face Cole Miller on the 19th of July, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46 in his comeback bout after recovering from his ACL injury. However, Miller pulled out of the bout citing a thumb injury and was replaced by Diego Brandão. McGregor fought Brandão in front of a loud, rowdy crowd of 9,500 at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. McGregor began the fight with a signature spinning side kick, before finding his range and successfully landing various taekwondo kicks, and left hand counters. Brandão, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, attempted to instigate two takedowns, so that he could make use of his grappling pedigree, but both attempts were avoided by McGregor. Nonetheless, much of the fight was spent on the ground, as McGregor attained a takedown 1:20 into the bout. When the fight returned to the feet in the third minute, McGregor began to employ his left hand cross, and started to cut off the cage. Brandão, trapped between the octagon and McGregor, fell to his side after being hit with another left hand cross as the fight went into its fourth minute. The fight was officially halted by referee Leon Roberts at 4:05 of the first round. The win earned McGregor his first "Performance of the Night" award.

Prior to his next bout, McGregor met with Lorenzo Fertitta and signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC. McGregor next faced Dustin Poirier on the 27th of September, 2014 at UFC 178. The bout was one of the most anticipated fights on the UFC 178 card, McGregor and Poirier part of only four men involved in the pre-fight press conference, alongside then-headliners Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Part of the anticipation stemmed from the challenge the match-up posed: Poirier was McGregor's first opponent ranked in the UFC's top ten featherweights. 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. In the post-fight interview with commentator Joe Rogan, McGregor cited the UFC Featherweight Championship as his next goal in the organisation, stating that "If [the UFC] want, I'll eliminate Chad Mendes and step in and give the fans what they want; Aldo vs. McGregor."

2015
McGregor's dominant victory over Poirier, paired with his brash trash-talking directed at the rest of the featherweight division, particularly UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo, allowed him to establish a claim to a potential title shot in the near future. McGregor was then scheduled to face perennial featherweight contender Dennis Siver on 18 January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59, in what was later deemed by UFC President Dana White a #1 contender bout. If McGregor were to win the fight, he would face Aldo for the Featherweight Championship later in 2015. The bout served as McGregor's return to Boston, after his 2013 fight with Max Holloway, and was the fourth-most attended UFC Fight Night event of all time, with an official attendance of 13,828. With a four-inch reach advantage, McGregor was able to land his signature left hand cross consistently, Siver struggling to counter all throughout the bout. McGregor kept distance by utilising side kicks to the legs of Siver, as well as wild spinning wheel kicks and leaping roundhouse kicks. Much of Siver's most successful offense came by way of side kicks to both McGregor's lead leg oblique, and chest. McGregor was mostly successful in avoiding his opposition's attack after the first two minutes of the fight, as he would slip underneath any counter left hooks that Siver offered as McGregor stepped in to deliver his left cross. Siver, a capable Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo practitioner, attempted three takedowns in the first round of the bout, but McGregor was able to avoid all three attempts handily. Despite landing in the first round 43 significant strikes to Siver's 27, the fight extended into the second round, where McGregor landed over four times more strikes than his opponent. At 1:26 into the second, McGregor landed a left hand cross that knocked Siver down onto his back. After passing Siver's guard, McGregor mounted his opponent and began throwing punches and elbows. Referee Herb Dean officially stopped the fight at 1:54 of the second round. The win came via TKO. The victory also earned McGregor his third straight "Performance of the Night" award. After the fight, McGregor jumped over the cage and confronted José Aldo, who was seated cage side at the event.



Interim Featherweight Championship bout
The highly anticipated bout with Aldo was announced on 30 January 2015, at the UFC 183 Q&A. McGregor himself declared that he was expected to face Aldo on 11 July 2015 at UFC 189 for the undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship, during the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The fight would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC, confident that the fight would exceed expectations, increased the promotional budget for the event, with company president Dana White stating that "[the UFC] spent more money promoting Aldo-McGregor than any fight in UFC history." In an effort to publicize the bout, both McGregor and Aldo embarked on a 12-day world tour, where they stopped over at eight cities in five countries, including Aldo's home country of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), the United States of America (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City) Canada (Toronto), England (London), and McGregor's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The tour began in Rio de Janeiro on 20 March, and completed in Dublin on 31 March. However, on 23 June, it was reported that Aldo had suffered a rib fracture and had pulled out of the bout in light of the injury. McGregor remained on the card and was rescheduled to face Chad Mendes for the Interim Featherweight Championship. This change of opponent was considered highly significant stylistically, not only as Mendes was the #1 ranked featherweight contender and a former title challenger, but as both McGregor's previous opponents in the UFC as well as Aldo had all been considered striking technicians. According to many pundits, McGregor had never faced a wrestler before, which Mendes, a former NCAA Division I wrestler, was.

At the weigh-ins, McGregor and Mendes both made the 145-pound limit, in front of a record crowd of 11,500 spectators. Once again, McGregor's countrymen and women flocked to the United States to support him, with Dana White stating that approximately 25% of the tickets sold for the event were from Ireland and the United Kingdom. The official attendance for the event, 16,019, broke the record in Nevada, whilst the gate of $7,200,000 broke the record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States. Just prior to the fight, McGregor's typical entrance song, "The Foggy Dew", was sung live by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, who performed the rendition of the song which she had recorded alongside the band The Chieftains in 1995.

McGregor opened the fight offensively, utilising a spinning back kick as soon as the bout began, before being taken down by Mendes. On the feet, Mendes and McGregor exchanged strikes for much of the first two minutes, McGregor landing his signature left cross as well as snap kicks to his opponent's body, and Mendes utilising hard left hooks and overhand rights. McGregor made use of his eight-inch reach advantage, by throwing various taekwondo techniques at range, including a multitude of spinning back kicks, and a roundhouse kick. At 2:13 into the first round, Mendes attempted a successful takedown, before ending up in McGregor's guard. After being hit with an elbow from Mendes, McGregor attempted to escape back to his feet, suffering a striking combination as a result. McGregor's offense remained targeted towards his opponent's body, in an attempt to drain the energy of Mendes. The third and final successful takedown for round 1 for Mendes occurred at 3:44, and led to Mendes briefly passing McGregor's guard and attaining side control, before being pulled back into half guard. Mendes briefly attempted a topside guillotine in the final half a minute of the round, but McGregor was able to roll out of the submission. In the final seconds of the round, Mendes was warned repeatedly by referee Herb Dean for sticking his fingers inside a cut that he had opened above McGregor's eyebrow earlier in the round. In the first round, McGregor successfully landed 19 of 51 significant strikes, compared to Mendes' 15 of 28. 53% of McGregor's strikes were dealt to the body, whilst 50% of Mendes' were directed at the head. Mendes also successfully landed 3 strikes to McGregor on the ground, including the elbow which cut McGregor's eyebrow. Many mixed martial arts media groups, including Sherdog, Caged Insider, MMA Junkie, and Bloody Elbow, scored the round 10-9 for Chad Mendes.

In the opening of the second round, McGregor continued to issue damage to Mendes' body, before sprawling to avoid a takedown 0:22 seconds in. After a successful variety of boxing combinations, Mendes landed a takedown at 0:48. Mendes maintained top position for much of the round subsequent to the takedown, landing 13 strikes to McGregor's head. McGregor, remaining offensive on the ground, landed a flurry of 7 elbow strikes to the head of Mendes from 2:37 onwards. Mendes complained to Herb Dean that the elbows were illegal, but Dean disagreed, allowing McGregor to continue his attack. At 4:12 of the round, Mendes attempted another topside guillotine from half guard, allowing McGregor to scramble back to his feet and continue his assault at distance. McGregor began to land uppercuts, hooks, and the left cross, before sprawling to avoid Mendes' third takedown attempt of the second round, at 4:32. With 10 seconds left in the round, McGregor landed a jab-cross combination that sent Mendes to the canvas. A series of strikes delivered to the grounded Mendes forced Herb Dean to step in and halt the bout at 4:57, with 3 seconds remaining in the round.

McGregor won the fight via second-round TKO, winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship. Mendes came over to McGregor shortly after the bout was stopped, and McGregor thanked him for accepting the fight, saying "You're a legend for taking this fight... [Aldo's] a juice-head pussy." A visually emotional McGregor said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that he was "blown away by the support. I can't put into words how grateful I am for everyone supporting me and following me... To come in here and just to hear all the support [at the weigh-ins] and today... I'm shaken with it." When asked about José Aldo by Rogan, McGregor stated that "in my opinion, José went running. I had bigger injuries leading up to this fight than [Aldo's] bruised rib, and I still showed up here and performed... If he wants to come back, he can come back, but I swear to god his day will come." The injury McGregor was referring to was later revealed to be an ACL tear that the fighter had procured during his training camp. During Chad Mendes' post-fight interview, McGregor approached his opponent, and the two men expressed respect and thankfulness towards one another. This victory extended McGregor's "Performance of the Night" award streak to four.

McGregor then took part in UFC's reality television series The Ultimate Fighter where he would coach against Urijah Faber. This "U.S. vs. Europe" installment of the show was the first time that the coaches would not fight against each other at the show's conclusion. Faber's team member Ryan Hall ended up winning the competition.

Featherweight Championship Unification bout
On 10 August, Dana White confirmed that the UFC 194 event, which was initially scheduled to be held at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on 5 December, would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada. A day later, on 11 August, it was announced that the event would take place on 12 December, and Conor McGregor would face José Aldo in their long-awaited UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout. This would be the second consecutive time McGregor would be scheduled to fight in Las Vegas in the headlining match. McGregor emerged from the fight announcement as an almost 2-to-1 betting favourite over Aldo.

At the UFC's "Go Big" press conference, on 4 September 2015, McGregor referenced both Aldo and his other opponent's tendency to pull-out of bouts with him, suggesting that at UFC 194, Aldo would not fight. He implored everyone on the dais, from members of the 145-pound featherweight division to the 170-pound welterweight division, to "prepare for this fight, because I don't think [Aldo's] showing up... Don't use [Mendes'] excuse of camps and all this bullshit. Stay ready, because [Aldo's] gone running." McGregor also made comments shortly prior to the press conference, detailing his intention to move up to the 155-pound lightweight division, and capture the UFC Lightweight Championship. He stated, "I'm going to unify the belts, I'm going to destroy the [featherweight] division, and then I'm going to take the lightweight division as well."

On the week of UFC 194, Dana White stated his belief that the event would attract more attention than any other mixed martial arts event in history. "[UFC 194] is trending in every way, shape and form to be the biggest thing we've ever done... this fight is [set to gross in gate] $10,000,000." At the weigh-ins, both McGregor and Aldo achieved the stipulated weight limit of 145 pounds, making the bout official in front of a raucous 9,000 spectators. During the customary staredown, both men needed to be separated from one another. The event lived up to its monetary potential, producing a live gate of $10,100,000, breaking the previous record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States, established at UFC 189. The final attendance for the event also broke the Nevada attendance record, with a live attendance figure of 16,516. The buyrate for the pay-per-view was 1,200,000, placing it as the second highest buyrate in UFC history, behind only UFC 100.

When both men met in the centre of the octagon for referee John McCarthy's instructions, Aldo refused to make eye-contact with McGregor, as per his usual pre-fight tradition. Neither man performed the customary touch of gloves. As the bout began, both men rushed to the centre of the cage. McGregor threw the first strike of the fight, a left cross which failed to connect. Aldo's follow-up counter left hook similarly failed to make contact with McGregor. McGregor, attempting to establish distance, utilised a front-leg side kick, directed at Aldo's lead leg. At 0:09 into the opening round, Aldo stepped into the pocket, feinting a right cross in an attempt to connect with a left hook. But as Aldo attempted this combination, McGregor stepped back and countered with his own left hook. McGregor's power, combined with Aldo's forward momentum, caused the shot to drop Aldo to the canvas. After delivering two additional hammerfists to the grounded Aldo, John McCarthy halted the bout. The fight lasted 13 seconds, the fastest finish in any UFC title bout, cementing Conor McGregor as only the second undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion in history. In a record-breaking fifth consecutive award, McGregor was made the winner of the "Performance of the Night" bonus. The win over Aldo extended his UFC win streak to 7 and overall win streak to 15. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, McGregor talked about how "nobody can take that left hand shot... [Aldo's] powerful and he's fast. But precision beats power, and timing beats speed." McGregor expressed sympathy for his opponent, stating "I feel for José. He was a phenomenal champion. We deserve to go a little longer." At the conclusion of the interview, McGregor grabbed Rogan's microphone, before exclaiming "Ireland baby, we did it; yeah!"

Nate Diaz rivalry
McGregor was expected to face Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 5 March 2016 at UFC 196 in an attempt to become the first UFC dual-weight champion. However, it was announced on 23 February that dos Anjos withdrew from the fight after breaking his foot. McGregor instead made his welterweight debut against Nate Diaz where Diaz won via submission in the second round, marking McGregor's first defeat in the UFC. Both competitors were awarded "Fight of the Night" bonuses.

A rematch with Diaz was scheduled for July 9 at UFC 200. However, on April 19, the UFC announced that McGregor had been pulled from the event after failing to fulfill media obligations related to the fight. In turn, the fight with McGregor was rescheduled and took place the following month, contested again at welterweight, at UFC 202. McGregor won the rematch via majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47). The bout was once again awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. The event broke the record previously held by UFC 100 for highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history with 1,650,000 buys.

Two-division champion
On September 27, it was officially announced that McGregor's next bout would be against Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship on November 12 at UFC 205. McGregor defeated Alvarez by second-round technical knockout to win the UFC Lightweight Championship and become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

On November 26, due to his inactivity in the division, it was initially announced that McGregor vacated the Featherweight Championship, therefore promoting José Aldo to undisputed champion but further reports say that McGregor was actually stripped of the title as confirmed by his coach.

Fighting style
McGregor is known mostly as a striker and prefers to fight standing up as opposed to on the ground. He primarily fights out of the southpaw stance, but often elects to switch to a conventional stance as well, and will frequently try to be the aggressor in his bouts. McGregor's boxing is typically considered his best skill, with the majority of his victories coming by way of knockout or technical-knockout via punches. Many pundits cite McGregor's pull-back left-handed counter as his most dangerous strike.

McGregor will almost always engage in trash talk and "psychological warfare" against his opponents which have led to comparisons to Muhammad Ali, whom McGregor cites as one of his early inspirations. After Ali died in June 2016, McGregor opined that "nobody will ever come close to [Ali's] greatness".

Personal life
McGregor has two sisters, Erin and Aoife. He has been in a relationship with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, since 2008. McGregor and Devlin are expecting their first child in May 2017.

McGregor usually carries with him a hat that his grandfather frequently wore before he died. He is left-handed. McGregor does not adhere to any pre-fight rituals or superstitions because he believes them to be "a form of fear". He frequently trains in Reykjavik, Iceland, at the Mjölnir gym, alongside fellow UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson.

On November 30, 2016, McGregor obtained a professional boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission.

Championships

 * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
 * CWFC Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * CWFC Lightweight Championship (one time)
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * UFC Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * UFC Interim Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * UFC Lightweight Championship (one time, current)

Awards, records and honours

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (two times) vs. Nate Diaz
 * Knockout of the Night (one time) vs. Marcus Brimage
 * Performance of the Night (six times) vs. Diego Brandão, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver, Chad Mendes, José Aldo and Eddie Alvarez
 * Fastest title fight victory in UFC history (13 seconds) vs. José Aldo
 * First simultaneous multi-divisional champion (featherweight, lightweight)
 * Most consecutive Performance of the Night awards in UFC history (five)
 * Most consecutive post-fight bonuses in UFC history (eight)
 * Most knockouts in UFC featherweight division history (six)
 * Most Performance of the Night awards in UFC history (six)
 * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
 * First multi-division champion (featherweight, lightweight)
 * Bleacher Report
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * 2016 Fight of the Year vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 202
 * Combat Press
 * 2014 Breakout Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * ESPN
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * '''ESPYs
 * 2016 Best Fighter
 * 2016 Nominee for Best Breakthrough Athlete
 * Fight Matrix
 * Lineal Featherweight Championship (one time, current)
 * Fox Sports
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * '''MMA Fighting
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year


 * MMA Junkie
 * 2015 December Knockout of the Month vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * MMA Insider
 * 2013 Best UFC Newcomer
 * '''MMA Mania
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * RTÉ Sport
 * 2016 RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
 * Rolling Stone
 * 25 Hottest Sex Symbols of 2015 inclusion
 * Severe MMA
 * 2014 Irish Pro Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Irish Pro Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * Sherdog
 * 2014 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 194
 * 2015 Knockout of the Year vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * 2016 Fighter of the Year
 * The MMA Community
 * 2015 Male Fighter of the Year
 * VIP Style Awards
 * 2015 Ireland's Most Stylish Man
 * World MMA Awards
 * 2014 International Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 International Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * 2015 Best on Interviews
 * 2015 Feud of the Year vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

 * Win
 * align=center|21–3
 * Eddie Alvarez
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 205
 * November 12 2016
 * align=center|2
 * align=center|3:04
 * New York City, New York, United States
 * Won the UFC Lightweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * align=center|20–3
 * Nate Diaz
 * Decision (majority)
 * UFC 202
 * August 20 2016
 * align=center|5
 * align=center|5:00
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Welterweight bout. Fight of the Night.
 * Loss
 * align=center|19–3
 * Nate Diaz
 * Submission (rear-naked choke)
 * UFC 196
 * March 5 2016
 * align=center|2
 * align=center|4:12
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Welterweight debut. Fight of the Night.
 * Win
 * align=center| 19–2
 * José Aldo
 * KO (punch)
 * UFC 194
 * December 12 2015
 * align=center|1
 * align=center|0:13
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Won and unified the UFC Featherweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 18–2
 * Chad Mendes
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 189
 * July 11 2015
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:57
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Won the interim UFC Featherweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 17–2
 * Dennis Siver
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver
 * January 18 2015
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:54
 * Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 16–2
 * Dustin Poirier
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 178
 * September 27 2014
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:46
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 15–2
 * Diego Brandão
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao
 * July 19 2014
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:05
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 14–2
 * Max Holloway
 * Decision (unanimous)
 * UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen
 * August 17 2013
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3
 * style="text-align:center;" | 5:00
 * Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 13–2
 * Marcus Brimage
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi
 * April 6 2013
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:07
 * Stockholm, Sweden
 * Return to Featherweight. Knockout of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 12–2
 * Ivan Buchinger
 * KO (punch)
 * Cage Warriors FC 51
 * December 31 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3:40
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Won the CWFC Lightweight Championship.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 11–2
 * Dave Hill
 * Submission (rear-naked choke)
 * Cage Warriors FC 47
 * June 2 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:10
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Won the CWFC Featherweight Championship.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 10–2
 * Steve O'Keefe
 * KO (elbows)
 * Cage Warriors FC 45
 * February 18 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:35
 * Kentish Town, England
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 9–2
 * Aaron Jahnsen
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Warriors: Fight Night 2
 * September 8 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3:29
 * Amman, Jordan
 * Lightweight bout.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 8–2
 * Artur Sowinski
 * TKO (punches)
 * Celtic Gladiator 2: Clash of the Giants
 * June 11 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:12
 * Portlaoise, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 7–2
 * Paddy Doherty
 * KO (punch)
 * Immortal Fighting Championship 4
 * April 16 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:04
 * Letterkenny, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 6–2
 * Mike Wood
 * KO (punches)
 * Cage Contender 8
 * March 12 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:16
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 5–2
 * Hugh Brady
 * TKO (punches)
 * Chaos FC 8
 * February 12 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2:31
 * Derry, Northern Ireland
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4–2
 * Joseph Duffy
 * Submission (arm-triangle choke)
 * Cage Warriors 39: The Uprising
 * November 27 2010
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:38
 * Cork, Ireland
 * Lightweight bout.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4–1
 * Connor Dillon
 * TKO (corner stoppage)
 * Chaos FC 7
 * October 9 2010
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:22
 * Derry, Northern Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3–1
 * Stephen Bailey
 * TKO (punches)
 * K.O.: The Fight Before Christmas
 * December 12 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:22
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–1
 * Artemij Sitenkov
 * Submission (kneebar)
 * Cage of Truth 3
 * June 28 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:09
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Featherweight debut.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–0
 * Mo Taylor
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Rage Contenders - Ireland vs. Belgium
 * May 3 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:06
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1–0
 * Gary Morris
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage of Truth 2
 * March 8 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–1
 * Artemij Sitenkov
 * Submission (kneebar)
 * Cage of Truth 3
 * June 28 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:09
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Featherweight debut.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–0
 * Mo Taylor
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Rage Contenders - Ireland vs. Belgium
 * May 3 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:06
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1–0
 * Gary Morris
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage of Truth 2
 * March 8 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * }

Early life
McGregor was born in Dublin, Ireland to Tony and Margaret McGregor. He was raised in the South Dublin suburb of Crumlin and attended a Gaelscoil and Gaelcholáiste at both primary and at secondary level in Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght, where he also developed his passion for sport playing association football. In his youth, he played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club.

As a youth, McGregor took up kickboxing and at the age of 12, he began boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club under two-time Olympian Phil Sutcliffe where he often trained alongside Dean Byrne and Jamie Kavanagh, both of whom went on to train at Wild Card Gym under Freddie Roach. McGregor later became an All-Ireland boxing champion at the youth level.

In 2006, McGregor moved with his family to Lucan in West Dublin, attending Gaelcholáiste Coláiste Cois Life. Following that, he commenced a plumbing apprenticeship. While in Lucan, he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and they soon started training mixed martial arts (MMA) together.

Amateur mixed martial arts career
On 17 February 2007, at the age of 18, McGregor made his mixed martial arts debut, in an amateur fight against Kieran Campbell for the Irish Ring of Truth promotion in Dublin. He was victorious via technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. Following the fight, he turned professional and was signed by the Irish Cage of Truth promotion. In 2008, McGregor began training at the Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Dublin under John Kavanagh.

Professional mixed martial arts career
On 9 March 2008, McGregor had his first professional MMA bout, as a lightweight, defeating Gary Morris with a second-round TKO. After McGregor won his second fight against Mo Taylor, he made his featherweight debut in a loss via submission against Artemij Sitenkov. After a victory at featherweight in his next bout against Stephen Bailey, McGregor contemplated a different career path before his mother contacted his coach John Kavanagh and reinvigorated him to continue pursuing mixed martial arts.

McGregor then won his next fight, also at featherweight, against Connor Dillon, before moving back to lightweight for a fight against Joseph Duffy where he received his second professional loss after submitting to an arm-triangle choke. Following this, during 2011 and 2012, McGregor went on an eight-fight win streak, during which he won both the CWFC Featherweight and Lightweight championships, making him the first European professional mixed martial artist to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. In February 2013, UFC president Dana White made a trip to Dublin, Ireland to receive a Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from Trinity College and was inundated with requests to sign McGregor to the UFC. After a meeting with McGregor, and talking with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, White offered him a contract days later.

UFC Debut
In February 2013, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced that they had signed McGregor to a multi-fight contract. In joining, McGregor became only the second fighter from Ireland to compete for the company, following fellow SBG team member 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. Brimage began the fight aggressively, meeting McGregor in the middle of the octagon before launching a flurry of strikes to push him back. McGregor, repeatedly throwing a counter left hook, found little success with his initial striking. After ascertaining that Brimage was susceptible to a snap kick directed at his chest and chin, McGregor began to employ a looping left hand uppercut, throwing every time Brimage would move forward into striking range. These uppercuts grounded Brimage shortly after McGregor started to utilise them. The bout was stopped 1:07 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, but Ogle pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Max Holloway. McGregor bewildered Holloway with his unusual boxing technique, and his incorporation of a wide variety of taekwondo kicks, many of which are not used in MMA to a significant degree. McGregor was able to control the striking range by utilising long, non-committal low side kicks to Holloway's knee and shin, and initiate combinations by leaping in with switch and bicycle kicks. When the fight was brought to the ground, McGregor maintained top control, performing various positional advances, and mitigating his opponent's offense on the ground. McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 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. 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 in 2014, entitled "The Notorious".

Return after injury
McGregor was expected to face Cole Miller on the 19th of July, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46 in his comeback bout after recovering from his ACL injury. However, Miller pulled out of the bout citing a thumb injury and was replaced by Diego Brandão. McGregor fought Brandão in front of a loud, rowdy crowd of 9,500 at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. McGregor began the fight with a signature spinning side kick, before finding his range and successfully landing various taekwondo kicks, and left hand counters. Brandão, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, attempted to instigate two takedowns, so that he could make use of his grappling pedigree, but both attempts were avoided by McGregor. Nonetheless, much of the fight was spent on the ground, as McGregor attained a takedown 1:20 into the bout. When the fight returned to the feet in the third minute, McGregor began to employ his left hand cross, and started to cut off the cage. Brandão, trapped between the octagon and McGregor, fell to his side after being hit with another left hand cross as the fight went into its fourth minute. The fight was officially halted by referee Leon Roberts at 4:05 of the first round. The win earned McGregor his first "Performance of the Night" award.

Prior to his next bout, McGregor met with Lorenzo Fertitta and signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC. McGregor next faced Dustin Poirier on the 27th of September, 2014 at UFC 178. The bout was one of the most anticipated fights on the UFC 178 card, McGregor and Poirier part of only four men involved in the pre-fight press conference, alongside then-headliners Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Part of the anticipation stemmed from the challenge the match-up posed: Poirier was McGregor's first opponent ranked in the UFC's top ten featherweights. 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. In the post-fight interview with commentator Joe Rogan, McGregor cited the UFC Featherweight Championship as his next goal in the organisation, stating that "If [the UFC] want, I'll eliminate Chad Mendes and step in and give the fans what they want; Aldo vs. McGregor."

2015
McGregor's dominant victory over Poirier, paired with his brash trash-talking directed at the rest of the featherweight division, particularly UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo, allowed him to establish a claim to a potential title shot in the near future. McGregor was then scheduled to face perennial featherweight contender Dennis Siver on 18 January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59, in what was later deemed by UFC President Dana White a #1 contender bout. If McGregor were to win the fight, he would face Aldo for the Featherweight Championship later in 2015. The bout served as McGregor's return to Boston, after his 2013 fight with Max Holloway, and was the fourth-most attended UFC Fight Night event of all time, with an official attendance of 13,828. With a four-inch reach advantage, McGregor was able to land his signature left hand cross consistently, Siver struggling to counter all throughout the bout. McGregor kept distance by utilising side kicks to the legs of Siver, as well as wild spinning wheel kicks and leaping roundhouse kicks. Much of Siver's most successful offense came by way of side kicks to both McGregor's lead leg oblique, and chest. McGregor was mostly successful in avoiding his opposition's attack after the first two minutes of the fight, as he would slip underneath any counter left hooks that Siver offered as McGregor stepped in to deliver his left cross. Siver, a capable Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo practitioner, attempted three takedowns in the first round of the bout, but McGregor was able to avoid all three attempts handily. Despite landing in the first round 43 significant strikes to Siver's 27, the fight extended into the second round, where McGregor landed over four times more strikes than his opponent. At 1:26 into the second, McGregor landed a left hand cross that knocked Siver down onto his back. After passing Siver's guard, McGregor mounted his opponent and began throwing punches and elbows. Referee Herb Dean officially stopped the fight at 1:54 of the second round. The win came via TKO. The victory also earned McGregor his third straight "Performance of the Night" award. After the fight, McGregor jumped over the cage and confronted José Aldo, who was seated cage side at the event.



Interim Featherweight Championship bout
The highly anticipated bout with Aldo was announced on 30 January 2015, at the UFC 183 Q&A. McGregor himself declared that he was expected to face Aldo on 11 July 2015 at UFC 189 for the undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship, during the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The fight would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC, confident that the fight would exceed expectations, increased the promotional budget for the event, with company president Dana White stating that "[the UFC] spent more money promoting Aldo-McGregor than any fight in UFC history." In an effort to publicize the bout, both McGregor and Aldo embarked on a 12-day world tour, where they stopped over at eight cities in five countries, including Aldo's home country of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), the United States of America (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City) Canada (Toronto), England (London), and McGregor's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The tour began in Rio de Janeiro on 20 March, and completed in Dublin on 31 March. However, on 23 June, it was reported that Aldo had suffered a rib fracture and had pulled out of the bout in light of the injury. McGregor remained on the card and was rescheduled to face Chad Mendes for the Interim Featherweight Championship. This change of opponent was considered highly significant stylistically, not only as Mendes was the #1 ranked featherweight contender and a former title challenger, but as both McGregor's previous opponents in the UFC as well as Aldo had all been considered striking technicians. According to many pundits, McGregor had never faced a wrestler before, which Mendes, a former NCAA Division I wrestler, was.

At the weigh-ins, McGregor and Mendes both made the 145-pound limit, in front of a record crowd of 11,500 spectators. Once again, McGregor's countrymen and women flocked to the United States to support him, with Dana White stating that approximately 25% of the tickets sold for the event were from Ireland and the United Kingdom. The official attendance for the event, 16,019, broke the record in Nevada, whilst the gate of $7,200,000 broke the record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States. Just prior to the fight, McGregor's typical entrance song, "The Foggy Dew", was sung live by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, who performed the rendition of the song which she had recorded alongside the band The Chieftains in 1995.

McGregor opened the fight offensively, utilising a spinning back kick as soon as the bout began, before being taken down by Mendes. On the feet, Mendes and McGregor exchanged strikes for much of the first two minutes, McGregor landing his signature left cross as well as snap kicks to his opponent's body, and Mendes utilising hard left hooks and overhand rights. McGregor made use of his eight-inch reach advantage, by throwing various taekwondo techniques at range, including a multitude of spinning back kicks, and a roundhouse kick. At 2:13 into the first round, Mendes attempted a successful takedown, before ending up in McGregor's guard. After being hit with an elbow from Mendes, McGregor attempted to escape back to his feet, suffering a striking combination as a result. McGregor's offense remained targeted towards his opponent's body, in an attempt to drain the energy of Mendes. The third and final successful takedown for round 1 for Mendes occurred at 3:44, and led to Mendes briefly passing McGregor's guard and attaining side control, before being pulled back into half guard. Mendes briefly attempted a topside guillotine in the final half a minute of the round, but McGregor was able to roll out of the submission. In the final seconds of the round, Mendes was warned repeatedly by referee Herb Dean for sticking his fingers inside a cut that he had opened above McGregor's eyebrow earlier in the round. In the first round, McGregor successfully landed 19 of 51 significant strikes, compared to Mendes' 15 of 28. 53% of McGregor's strikes were dealt to the body, whilst 50% of Mendes' were directed at the head. Mendes also successfully landed 3 strikes to McGregor on the ground, including the elbow which cut McGregor's eyebrow. Many mixed martial arts media groups, including Sherdog, Caged Insider, MMA Junkie, and Bloody Elbow, scored the round 10-9 for Chad Mendes.

In the opening of the second round, McGregor continued to issue damage to Mendes' body, before sprawling to avoid a takedown 0:22 seconds in. After a successful variety of boxing combinations, Mendes landed a takedown at 0:48. Mendes maintained top position for much of the round subsequent to the takedown, landing 13 strikes to McGregor's head. McGregor, remaining offensive on the ground, landed a flurry of 7 elbow strikes to the head of Mendes from 2:37 onwards. Mendes complained to Herb Dean that the elbows were illegal, but Dean disagreed, allowing McGregor to continue his attack. At 4:12 of the round, Mendes attempted another topside guillotine from half guard, allowing McGregor to scramble back to his feet and continue his assault at distance. McGregor began to land uppercuts, hooks, and the left cross, before sprawling to avoid Mendes' third takedown attempt of the second round, at 4:32. With 10 seconds left in the round, McGregor landed a jab-cross combination that sent Mendes to the canvas. A series of strikes delivered to the grounded Mendes forced Herb Dean to step in and halt the bout at 4:57, with 3 seconds remaining in the round.

McGregor won the fight via second-round TKO, winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship. Mendes came over to McGregor shortly after the bout was stopped, and McGregor thanked him for accepting the fight, saying "You're a legend for taking this fight... [Aldo's] a juice-head pussy." A visually emotional McGregor said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that he was "blown away by the support. I can't put into words how grateful I am for everyone supporting me and following me... To come in here and just to hear all the support [at the weigh-ins] and today... I'm shaken with it." When asked about José Aldo by Rogan, McGregor stated that "in my opinion, José went running. I had bigger injuries leading up to this fight than [Aldo's] bruised rib, and I still showed up here and performed... If he wants to come back, he can come back, but I swear to god his day will come." The injury McGregor was referring to was later revealed to be an ACL tear that the fighter had procured during his training camp. During Chad Mendes' post-fight interview, McGregor approached his opponent, and the two men expressed respect and thankfulness towards one another. This victory extended McGregor's "Performance of the Night" award streak to four.

McGregor then took part in UFC's reality television series The Ultimate Fighter where he would coach against Urijah Faber. This "U.S. vs. Europe" installment of the show was the first time that the coaches would not fight against each other at the show's conclusion. Faber's team member Ryan Hall ended up winning the competition.

Featherweight Championship Unification bout
On 10 August, Dana White confirmed that the UFC 194 event, which was initially scheduled to be held at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on 5 December, would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada. A day later, on 11 August, it was announced that the event would take place on 12 December, and Conor McGregor would face José Aldo in their long-awaited UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout. This would be the second consecutive time McGregor would be scheduled to fight in Las Vegas in the headlining match. McGregor emerged from the fight announcement as an almost 2-to-1 betting favourite over Aldo.

At the UFC's "Go Big" press conference, on 4 September 2015, McGregor referenced both Aldo and his other opponent's tendency to pull-out of bouts with him, suggesting that at UFC 194, Aldo would not fight. He implored everyone on the dais, from members of the 145-pound featherweight division to the 170-pound welterweight division, to "prepare for this fight, because I don't think [Aldo's] showing up... Don't use [Mendes'] excuse of camps and all this bullshit. Stay ready, because [Aldo's] gone running." McGregor also made comments shortly prior to the press conference, detailing his intention to move up to the 155-pound lightweight division, and capture the UFC Lightweight Championship. He stated, "I'm going to unify the belts, I'm going to destroy the [featherweight] division, and then I'm going to take the lightweight division as well."

On the week of UFC 194, Dana White stated his belief that the event would attract more attention than any other mixed martial arts event in history. "[UFC 194] is trending in every way, shape and form to be the biggest thing we've ever done... this fight is [set to gross in gate] $10,000,000." At the weigh-ins, both McGregor and Aldo achieved the stipulated weight limit of 145 pounds, making the bout official in front of a raucous 9,000 spectators. During the customary staredown, both men needed to be separated from one another. The event lived up to its monetary potential, producing a live gate of $10,100,000, breaking the previous record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States, established at UFC 189. The final attendance for the event also broke the Nevada attendance record, with a live attendance figure of 16,516. The buyrate for the pay-per-view was 1,200,000, placing it as the second highest buyrate in UFC history, behind only UFC 100.

When both men met in the centre of the octagon for referee John McCarthy's instructions, Aldo refused to make eye-contact with McGregor, as per his usual pre-fight tradition. Neither man performed the customary touch of gloves. As the bout began, both men rushed to the centre of the cage. McGregor threw the first strike of the fight, a left cross which failed to connect. Aldo's follow-up counter left hook similarly failed to make contact with McGregor. McGregor, attempting to establish distance, utilised a front-leg side kick, directed at Aldo's lead leg. At 0:09 into the opening round, Aldo stepped into the pocket, feinting a right cross in an attempt to connect with a left hook. But as Aldo attempted this combination, McGregor stepped back and countered with his own left hook. McGregor's power, combined with Aldo's forward momentum, caused the shot to drop Aldo to the canvas. After delivering two additional hammerfists to the grounded Aldo, John McCarthy halted the bout. The fight lasted 13 seconds, the fastest finish in any UFC title bout, cementing Conor McGregor as only the second undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion in history. In a record-breaking fifth consecutive award, McGregor was made the winner of the "Performance of the Night" bonus. The win over Aldo extended his UFC win streak to 7 and overall win streak to 15. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, McGregor talked about how "nobody can take that left hand shot... [Aldo's] powerful and he's fast. But precision beats power, and timing beats speed." McGregor expressed sympathy for his opponent, stating "I feel for José. He was a phenomenal champion. We deserve to go a little longer." At the conclusion of the interview, McGregor grabbed Rogan's microphone, before exclaiming "Ireland baby, we did it; yeah!"

Nate Diaz rivalry
McGregor was expected to face Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 5 March 2016 at UFC 196 in an attempt to become the first UFC dual-weight champion. However, it was announced on 23 February that dos Anjos withdrew from the fight after breaking his foot. McGregor instead made his welterweight debut against Nate Diaz where Diaz won via submission in the second round, marking McGregor's first defeat in the UFC. Both competitors were awarded "Fight of the Night" bonuses.

A rematch with Diaz was scheduled for July 9 at UFC 200. However, on April 19, the UFC announced that McGregor had been pulled from the event after failing to fulfill media obligations related to the fight. In turn, the fight with McGregor was rescheduled and took place the following month, contested again at welterweight, at UFC 202. McGregor won the rematch via majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47). The bout was once again awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. The event broke the record previously held by UFC 100 for highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history with 1,650,000 buys.

Two-division champion
On September 27, it was officially announced that McGregor's next bout would be against Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship on November 12 at UFC 205. McGregor defeated Alvarez by second-round technical knockout to win the UFC Lightweight Championship and become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

On November 26, due to his inactivity in the division, it was initially announced that McGregor vacated the Featherweight Championship, therefore promoting José Aldo to undisputed champion but further reports say that McGregor was actually stripped of the title as confirmed by his coach.

Fighting style
McGregor is known mostly as a striker and prefers to fight standing up as opposed to on the ground. He primarily fights out of the southpaw stance, but often elects to switch to a conventional stance as well, and will frequently try to be the aggressor in his bouts. McGregor's boxing is typically considered his best skill, with the majority of his victories coming by way of knockout or technical-knockout via punches. Many pundits cite McGregor's pull-back left-handed counter as his most dangerous strike.

McGregor will almost always engage in trash talk and "psychological warfare" against his opponents which have led to comparisons to Muhammad Ali, whom McGregor cites as one of his early inspirations. After Ali died in June 2016, McGregor opined that "nobody will ever come close to [Ali's] greatness".

Personal life
McGregor has two sisters, Erin and Aoife. He has been in a relationship with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, since 2008. McGregor and Devlin are expecting their first child in May 2017.

McGregor usually carries with him a hat that his grandfather frequently wore before he died. He is left-handed. McGregor does not adhere to any pre-fight rituals or superstitions because he believes them to be "a form of fear". He frequently trains in Reykjavik, Iceland, at the Mjölnir gym, alongside fellow UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson.

On November 30, 2016, McGregor obtained a professional boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission.

Championships

 * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
 * CWFC Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * CWFC Lightweight Championship (one time)
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * UFC Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * UFC Interim Featherweight Championship (one time)
 * UFC Lightweight Championship (one time, current)

Awards, records and honours

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (two times) vs. Nate Diaz
 * Knockout of the Night (one time) vs. Marcus Brimage
 * Performance of the Night (six times) vs. Diego Brandão, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver, Chad Mendes, José Aldo and Eddie Alvarez
 * Fastest title fight victory in UFC history (13 seconds) vs. José Aldo
 * First simultaneous multi-divisional champion (featherweight, lightweight)
 * Most consecutive Performance of the Night awards in UFC history (five)
 * Most consecutive post-fight bonuses in UFC history (eight)
 * Most knockouts in UFC featherweight division history (six)
 * Most Performance of the Night awards in UFC history (six)
 * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
 * First multi-division champion (featherweight, lightweight)
 * Bleacher Report
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * 2016 Fight of the Year vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 202
 * Combat Press
 * 2014 Breakout Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * ESPN
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * '''ESPYs
 * 2016 Best Fighter
 * 2016 Nominee for Best Breakthrough Athlete
 * Fight Matrix
 * Lineal Featherweight Championship (one time, current)
 * Fox Sports
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * '''MMA Fighting
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year


 * MMA Junkie
 * 2015 December Knockout of the Month vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * MMA Insider
 * 2013 Best UFC Newcomer
 * '''MMA Mania
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 189
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * RTÉ Sport
 * 2016 RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
 * Rolling Stone
 * 25 Hottest Sex Symbols of 2015 inclusion
 * Severe MMA
 * 2014 Irish Pro Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Irish Pro Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * Sherdog
 * 2014 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Event of the Year headlined at UFC 194
 * 2015 Knockout of the Year vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * 2016 Fighter of the Year
 * The MMA Community
 * 2015 Male Fighter of the Year
 * VIP Style Awards
 * 2015 Ireland's Most Stylish Man
 * World MMA Awards
 * 2014 International Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 International Fighter of the Year
 * 2015 Fighter of the Year
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * 2015 Best on Interviews
 * 2015 Feud of the Year vs. José Aldo
 * 2015 Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

 * Win
 * align=center|21–3
 * Eddie Alvarez
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 205
 * November 12 2016
 * align=center|2
 * align=center|3:04
 * New York City, New York, United States
 * Won the UFC Lightweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * align=center|20–3
 * Nate Diaz
 * Decision (majority)
 * UFC 202
 * August 20 2016
 * align=center|5
 * align=center|5:00
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Welterweight bout. Fight of the Night.
 * Loss
 * align=center|19–3
 * Nate Diaz
 * Submission (rear-naked choke)
 * UFC 196
 * March 5 2016
 * align=center|2
 * align=center|4:12
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Welterweight debut. Fight of the Night.
 * Win
 * align=center| 19–2
 * José Aldo
 * KO (punch)
 * UFC 194
 * December 12 2015
 * align=center|1
 * align=center|0:13
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Won and unified the UFC Featherweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 18–2
 * Chad Mendes
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 189
 * July 11 2015
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:57
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Won the interim UFC Featherweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 17–2
 * Dennis Siver
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver
 * January 18 2015
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:54
 * Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 16–2
 * Dustin Poirier
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC 178
 * September 27 2014
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:46
 * Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 15–2
 * Diego Brandão
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao
 * July 19 2014
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:05
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Performance of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 14–2
 * Max Holloway
 * Decision (unanimous)
 * UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen
 * August 17 2013
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3
 * style="text-align:center;" | 5:00
 * Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 13–2
 * Marcus Brimage
 * TKO (punches)
 * UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi
 * April 6 2013
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:07
 * Stockholm, Sweden
 * Return to Featherweight. Knockout of the Night.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 12–2
 * Ivan Buchinger
 * KO (punch)
 * Cage Warriors FC 51
 * December 31 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3:40
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Won the CWFC Lightweight Championship.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 11–2
 * Dave Hill
 * Submission (rear-naked choke)
 * Cage Warriors FC 47
 * June 2 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:10
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Won the CWFC Featherweight Championship.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 10–2
 * Steve O'Keefe
 * KO (elbows)
 * Cage Warriors FC 45
 * February 18 2012
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:35
 * Kentish Town, England
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 9–2
 * Aaron Jahnsen
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Warriors: Fight Night 2
 * September 8 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3:29
 * Amman, Jordan
 * Lightweight bout.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 8–2
 * Artur Sowinski
 * TKO (punches)
 * Celtic Gladiator 2: Clash of the Giants
 * June 11 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:12
 * Portlaoise, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 7–2
 * Paddy Doherty
 * KO (punch)
 * Immortal Fighting Championship 4
 * April 16 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:04
 * Letterkenny, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 6–2
 * Mike Wood
 * KO (punches)
 * Cage Contender 8
 * March 12 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:16
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 5–2
 * Hugh Brady
 * TKO (punches)
 * Chaos FC 8
 * February 12 2011
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2:31
 * Derry, Northern Ireland
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4–2
 * Joseph Duffy
 * Submission (arm-triangle choke)
 * Cage Warriors 39: The Uprising
 * November 27 2010
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:38
 * Cork, Ireland
 * Lightweight bout.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4–1
 * Connor Dillon
 * TKO (corner stoppage)
 * Chaos FC 7
 * October 9 2010
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 4:22
 * Derry, Northern Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3–1
 * Stephen Bailey
 * TKO (punches)
 * K.O.: The Fight Before Christmas
 * December 12 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:22
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–1
 * Artemij Sitenkov
 * Submission (kneebar)
 * Cage of Truth 3
 * June 28 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:09
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Featherweight debut.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–0
 * Mo Taylor
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Rage Contenders - Ireland vs. Belgium
 * May 3 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:06
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1–0
 * Gary Morris
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage of Truth 2
 * March 8 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * Loss
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–1
 * Artemij Sitenkov
 * Submission (kneebar)
 * Cage of Truth 3
 * June 28 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:09
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Featherweight debut.
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2–0
 * Mo Taylor
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage Rage Contenders - Ireland vs. Belgium
 * May 3 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1:06
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * Win
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1–0
 * Gary Morris
 * TKO (punches)
 * Cage of Truth 2
 * March 8 2008
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2
 * style="text-align:center;" | 0:08
 * Dublin, Ireland
 * }
 * }