5) McGregor starches Ivan Bunchinger
Back in 2012 McGregor had already become a feared finisher in the British promotion Cage Warriors, rising above the pack to become the organization’s featherweight champion. He then set his sights on the lightweight title, moving up to 155 pounds to challenge Ivan Buchinger for the strap (foreshadowing McGregor’s current attempt to dethrone Rafael Dos Anjos).
The contest was totally one sided, ending with McGregor landing a perfect counter left hand late in the first round that send Buchinger out cold to the canvas.
4) McGregor quickly demolishes Brimage
Following his win over Buchinger, McGregor was signed by the UFC and met the heavy handed Marcus Brimage in his promotional debut. McGregor showed UFC fans exactly what he was made of by demolishing Brimage in minutes, dispatching the stocky brawler with uppercuts and straight lefts.
The impressive win put McGregor on the map in a big way and fast tracked him to super stardom.
3) McGregor crushes Poirier
In the only fight in his UFC career that he came into as an official underdog, McGregor took on the dangerous Dustin Poirier at UFC 178. Poirier was favoured by many to defeat the Irish striking phenom but McGregor proved that he is truly elite by dispatching the highly touted American in the first round.
Poirier cited McGregor’s relentless pre fight trash talk as something that threw him off mentally coming into the bout. Regardless of the role that mental warfare played in the outcome, McGregor’s punching power was undeniable after this win.
2) McGregor pulls off comeback, breaks Mendes
Many had pointed to McGregor’s grappling as the weak link in his game, so Chad Mendes presented a very interesting challenge for the Irishman. Chad Mendes is perhaps the best 145 pound wrestler in the UFC, so few were surprised when he won the first round against McGregor with his grappling. The American seemed to be on his way to a decision win when McGregor escaped from bottom position and nailed Mendes with a vicious flurry of strikes near the end of the second round. The punches dropped and finished Mendes, establishing McGregor as the UFC interim featherweight champion.
1) McGregor shocks the world, KOs Aldo in seconds
Jose Aldo was ranked the the number one pound for pound fighter in the world coming into his title defence against McGregor. Aldo had not lost in over ten years entering the bout, but that all changed in just thirteen seconds.
Once the fight began McGregor was extremely relaxed, contrasting with the stiff and tense movement of Aldo. The Brazilian leapt forward with a combination but McGregor read it perfectly, timing his foe and crushing him with a left hand. Aldo fell the canvas, unconscious, and with that the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world had been dethroned. Conor McGregor was the new UFC featherweight champion and had silenced the doubters, transcending the hype with a once in a lifetime performance.
