Conor McGregor career profile (Profile post)

 

The inarguable biggest star in the history of the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole, Conor McGregor’s career serves as a great illustration of how quickly things can change in a fighter’s career, for better and for worse. Getting his start outside of the UFC in regional promotions across Ireland, he eventually made his way to the U.K based promotion Cage Warriors, where he became a two-weight division champion, a trend that would eventually follow him to the UFC. He made his debut in the UFC in 2013 with a first-round finish against Marcus Brimage, which set him up to go on a five-fight winning streak after. Personality wise, he was incredibly confident, yet still somewhat humble and clearly focused completely on becoming the best. This led to him becoming incredibly popular, eventually leading to his first championship opportunity, where he knocked out one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts Jose Aldo, in 13 seconds with a single punch. His popularity was so great that he was then afforded the opportunity to become a simultaneous two division champion, but after the current lightweight champion was injured and could not compete, Nate Diaz stepped in to face Conor at 170 pounds.

This fight proved to be a departure from the massive hot streak Conor was riding, as Nate defeated him inside two rounds with a rear-naked choke. Conor took this defeat relatively graciously, and called for a rematch with Nate, which he got a few months later and won via decision. He finally was given the chance to face the lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and in one of the most dominant performances in the history of the UFC, Conor finished the fight in the second round to win the lightweight championship and become the first simultaneous two-division champion in company history.

At this point Conor was so popular, the UFC made a rare decision and allowed Conor to compete in a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. Floyd defeated Conor, and a year later, now two years out from a UFC fight, Conor returned to mixed martial arts to Challenge the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov. The buildup to this fight was incredibly heated, and it culminated in the most bought pay per view event in UFC history. However, Conor was beaten once again and was then suspended after an altercation post-fight with Khabib’s team members.

Two years later, Conor returned to the UFC again, and quickly dispatched Donald Cerrone, setting up a rematch with Dustin Poirier, someone who he had beaten in the past. McGregor was favored to win this fight, but despite that he was knocked out in the second round by Dustin. By this point, Conor had lost his graciousness and likely his focus and was resorting to attacking the family of his opponents, which led to the Khabib fight becoming so heated. In July of 2021, he rematched Dustin for a third time, and after throwing a kick in the very first round, he snapped his leg. However, even on the ground after the fight had been stopped, his attacks on Dustin’s family continued. This was the last we have seen of Conor inside the cage, as he has not fought since then. He was scheduled to face Michael Chandler in 2024, but after an injury the fight was cancelled and there was no word on when, or if it would ever happen.

Conor is now 36 years old, and in my opinion will never compete again. Aside from him not having the need financially to compete, his motivation and drive for the sport seem to be gone. His name still gets into headlines, but for all the wrong reasons such as rumors about drug issues, lawsuits, or personal insults to others. As great as he once was, it looks as though the McGregor that captured the interest and admiration of the world is long gone.