It is hard to imagine the UFC without its greatest ever star, Conor McGregor. A global sporting icon, “The Notorious” single handedly raised the profile of the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion with his colossal personality and talent for self-promotion. Of course, it also helped that he possessed an incredibly attractive fighting style and show-stopping, knockout power.
Of course, MMA fans only know too well about life without McGregor. The Dubliner took an extended sabbatical from the sport in late 2016 in order to prepare for fatherhood, fitting in a money-spinning, glorified boxing exhibition against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Having already amassed a significant fortune through his career in MMA, McGregor added a cool $100 million to his wealth following his boxing debut.
In October 2018, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion returned to the Octagon in an attempt to reclaim his 155-pound title against the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov. Following a controversial bus attack in New York in April aimed at the Dagestani, McGregor pleaded guilty and avoided a custodial sentence. His return to competitive action was a fight that pretty much sold itself, breaking the UFC’s (and his own) pay-per-view record in the process.
While McGregor looked sluggish, uninspiring, and rusty against Nurmagomedov in the bout, there are few fans who believe that even the razor-sharp version of the Irishman is capable of challenging the Russian. Therefore, as long as “The Eagle” remains the king of the 155-pound division, McGregor will, in turn, remain a challenger, at very best. In any case, surely another lucrative rematch makes financial sense?
McGregor is a two-weight champion who has competed in three separate weight classes in the promotion. His two bouts against Stockton’s Nate Diaz were contested at welterweight (170 pounds), while he held the 145-pound and 155-pound titles. Even if Nurmagomedov guards the belt like a ferocious pitbull, surely there are options for the 30-year-old.
If McGregor was to utilize these options, is there a chance that we might see him, once again, as a UFC champion? In order to truly understand the challenges McGregor faces in becoming a champion once more, it is important to reflect on how he got there the first time around.
According to McGregor, he was set to walk away from his career in MMA when it seemed that the UFC – or another major MMA promotion – would not come knocking. Luckily for the Crumlin, Dublin-native, Dana White’s visit to Trinity College in the Irish capital brought the two-weight champion in Europe’s Cage Warriors promotion to his attention.
In April 2013, McGregor was matched up against the tough Marcus Brimage in Stockholm, Sweden. The Irishman’s debut ended in an impressive one-mute knockout but it was his post-fight Octagon interview that caught the attention of many fans. McGregor’s cocky request to White to hand him “60 G’s, baby” for a Knockout of the Night award raised plenty of smiles.
Following the Brimage bout, McGregor was matched up against the young Hawaiian prospect, Max Holloway (who had replaced Andy Ogle), in Irish-centric Boston in August 2013. McGregor, hoisting his tricolor, had the full support of most fans at the TD Garden in the city and did not disappoint them, earning a unanimous decision over his opponent.
McGregor would suffer a torn ACL in the bout which kept him on the sidelines for 9 months. In this time, fans and pundits waited in anticipation for the electric Irishman’s return to action. The UFC had a clear interest in driving the stock of McGregor up as high as possible, given his star appeal and his potential as a hugely marketable star. The promotion would have no idea of just how big he was set to be.
The UFC had carefully managed Conor McGregor’s return to action, handing “The Notorious” a headline UFC Fight Night bout in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. McGregor annihilated the Brazilian, Diego Brandao, in the first round of the bout, sending his compatriots wild. It was clear to see the support that the hometown hero had among the Irish and McGregor reveled in it.
His toughest test would come after the Brandao fight in the form of Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor’s stock was already rising and this was helped by his relentless and humorous trash talking aimed at Poirier. The fight was stopped in one round and suddenly everyone was talking about a title shot for “The Notorious.” With devastating power and magnetic confidence, the UFC had a true star on its hands.
If you had been paying attention to McGregor’s career around this point, you will probably remember that his next opponent, Dennis Siver, is what stood in front of McGregor and a title shot. At the time, other fighters in the division had voiced their displeasure at the Dubliner being afforded a title shot so early and without working his way rightfully through the division. Regardless, McGregor made easy work of Siver.
Following the fight, McGregor jumped over the cage and into the crowd where the featherweight champion and pound-for-pound number 1, Jose Aldo, was waiting. In less than two years – including a 9-month layoff – McGregor was in the position of fighting the greatest 145-pounder of all time for the title. An impressive achievement, even if many detractors believed that McGregor’s career was being expertly managed by the UFC.
The date was July 11, 2015, and the venue was the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor was perhaps the most anticipated battle in UFC history. The Brazilian legend was tipped to have too much for McGregor, who was considered by many as an inferior fighter. Aldo had not lost a fight in 10 years and was unbeaten in his career at featherweight.
A long and heated press conference saw both men travel the world in order to drum up anticipation for the bout. McGregor had verbally destroyed Aldo, who looked extremely uncomfortable at dealing with his opponent, given that he didn’t speak English. McGregor taunted “Scarface,” grabbing his belt at a press conference in Dublin and insulting everything from his nationality to his appearance.
The UFC’s investment in McGregor was certainly beginning to show signs of paying off, as evidenced by the huge interest in the fight. Unfortunately, the hype would be shut down abruptly when Aldo pulled out of the fight, citing a fractured rib. On just two weeks notice, Chad Mendes, one of the strongest wrestlers in the promotion – a skill that was seen as McGregor’s Achilles heel – took his place.
The event went ahead, albeit as an interim title bout. From the get-go, McGregor was easily taken down by the excellent wrestling skills of Mendes. To many observers, Aldo’s stand-in proved to the world that the Irishman was unable to deal with a powerful wrestler and the UFC looked as though it was about to lose a cash cow. McGregor did capitalize on a fatigued Mendes, however, stopping him late in the second round.
McGregor and Aldo would meet in December of 2015 in Las Vegas in what was the biggest fight in the UFC. All the hype, the hope, and the legions of Irish fans that invaded the Strip created a discernible buzz in the gambling capital of the world. McGregor’s entrance set the MGM Garden Arena wild and the tension was enough to cause the hairs on one’s necks to point to the ceiling.
Aldo looked extremely nervous and was not in the great shape that would have been expected of him. McGregor looked cool as a cucumber and was clearly up for a tough fight. Regardless, it was not to be. Aldo overextended – as McGregor had predicted – and the Irishman gladly slipped the Brazilian’s punch before launching a sweet left cross that sent him crashing to the canvas. A few hammer fists later and it was all over.
It took just 13-seconds to hand the greatest featherweight of all time his first loss in 10 years. There was a new champion at 145-pounds and he just happened to be the biggest star in the promotion. McGregor was baptized in the glory of an incredible performance and heralded as the future of the promotion. A visibly distraught and broken Aldo poetically personified the last days of the UFC as fans had known it.
Suddenly, McGregor’s stock had exploded. It was off the charts, much to the delight of UFC President Dana White and Zuffa’s Fertitta Brothers, the promotion’s former owners. Off the back of the success of “McGregormania,” the UFC would be sold to WME-IMG for $4 billion, ushering in a new era for the world’s foremost MMA promotion. The UFC had already capitalized on the star power of McGregor.
McGregor’s main aim was to become the first fighter to hold two titles in separate weight classes, a decision that meant he would refuse Aldo a rematch and keep the featherweight division on lockdown. The UFC was happy to afford McGregor pretty much anything he wanted, considering he was already a pay-per-view success following his UFC 194 victory.
It was announced early in 2016 that McGregor would take on lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 that March. Once again, McGregor would lose his opponent to injury and would have to deal with a stand-in blessed with a solid ground game. Diaz, with little notice, came in and handed McGregor the first loss of his career, albeit at welterweight. The good news was that the PPV buys set an all-time record in the UFC.
A subsequent rematch saw McGregor and Diaz face off later that year, once again at 170-pounds. McGregor earned a razor-thin decision victory, breaking his own pay-per-view record in the process. There was no bigger draw in the promotion than McGregor and this allowed him to ignore all challengers at featherweight and push for a lightweight title shot. As dos Anjos was beaten by Eddie Alvarez, McGregor had him in his sights.
At UFC 205 in November 2016 – almost one year since his beating of Jose Aldo – McGregor had his title shot. It was the first UFC event ever held at Madison Square Garden following the ease of the ban on MMA in New York. McGregor dominated Alvarez and made history as the first fighter to ever hold two UFC titles in separate weight classes.
Conor McGregor was unquestionably the biggest star in combat sports at this point and used his fame to secure that bout with Mayweather. Following the defeat to “Money,” the Dubliner seemed content with fatherhood and taking a break from fighting. However, a series of personal problems and controversial incidents led to many questions over his intentions to ever fight again.
McGregor had been stripped of his featherweight title early in 2017 yet still had his hands on the lightweight title until April 2018. In his absence, McGregor announced several entrepreneurial ventures, including a line of whiskey. However, his return to action was announced late in 2018, which takes us to the Khabib fight that we touched on at the top of this page.
So, there you have it. That is Conor McGregor’s incredible career so far, broken down, from the beginning to where we are today. There is no fighter in UFC history to have enjoyed the same level of success – financially and in terms of rapid achievement – than McGregor. Can he repeat this success and earn a title in the UFC? Or, has his star burned out, making him a prime candidate for retirement?
Let’s take a look at how McGregor might be able to do it again.
McGregor is still the star attraction of the UFC, regardless of his losses to Diaz and Khabib. This means that he will likely be provided with another title shot by the UFC, who certainly want as much money as they can get to justify the purchase by parent company WME-IMG. Doing it in a way that does not show blatant favoritism to McGregor is the more difficult part, however.
Yes, it is widely accepted that McGregor will be treated better than any other fighter on the UFC roster. He is the major star and the biggest earner for the promotion, so it is not surprising. What is not as obvious is just how McGregor can beat Nurmagomedov at 155-pounds to reclaim his crown. Will McGregor even stay at lightweight, considering he has experience of fighting at both 145 and 170 pounds.
The key to McGregor capturing another title is what weight he plans to do it at. Let’s take a look at each weight division he could realistically fight in.
Yes, McGregor fought most of his UFC career at featherweight but it wasn’t always easy for him to get there. The extraordinary effort and struggle McGregor went through to cut weight is unlikely to be something that he would want to do again. As a younger man, cutting weight is a lot easier, hence why many fighters tend to go up in weight as they get older.
Even if McGregor was to do the unthinkable and drop down to featherweight, his former opponent, Max Holloway, has his hands firmly on the title. Holloway has not lost a fight since dropping a unanimous decision to McGregor in 2013 and has gone through pretty much every fighter there is in the division. Even if Holloway was to lose his next fight against Brian Ortega, McGregor would not find this task easy.
With other fighters such as Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo, Renato Moicano, and Chad Mendes lurking around, McGregor may decide to look elsewhere.
The most likely scenario for McGregor is a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov. This is, of course, if the Dagestan-born destroyer agrees to one. Nurmagomedov is the wrong type of matchup for McGregor and would likely repeat his UFC 229 performance in a second fight. The UFC may be keen on securing another huge pay-per-view hit but might not want to run the risk of McGregor suffering another loss so quickly.
If McGregor is to stay at lightweight and build up a couple of wins before a potential rematch with Nurmagomedov, he will have to face a fighter in arguably the strongest weight class in the promotion. Fighters like Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee, Edson Barboza, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, and many more will be more than happy to earn their own payday.
It is likely that McGregor will stay in the 155-pound division. What is less clear is who he will face next.
Just like the lightweight division, welterweight is absolutely stacked with talent. Yes, McGregor did fight Nate Diaz at 170 pounds but Diaz, in all fairness, is a lightweight himself. Some of the larger men in the division, like Darren Till and Santiago Ponzinibbio, might simply be too strong for “The Notorious.” That’s before we even broach the subject of the excellent Tyron Woodley, the champion at welterweight.
A matchup between the two most outspoken fighters in the UFC, McGregor and Colby Covington, would be fun from an entertainment perspective. However, Covington’s wrestling would likely make the contest far from spectacular. If McGregor arrived at 170 pounds and earned an immediate title fight, this would not go down well at all with those vying for their own campaign at gold.
Perhaps a move up to 170 would be more realistic than a return to 145…
For anyone that likes a prediction, McGregor fighting for the first title in a new weight class is a great bet. In fact, it seems perfectly in line with what the UFC would want for McGregor. On one hand, there is no status quo in an existing division to upset fighters. Additionally, an opponent can be handpicked for McGregor to beat. As far as a perfect scenario to make McGregor a champion again goes, this is it.
There have been rumors of a shakeup in the way the promotion organizes weight classes. This just might lead to the introduction of a 165-pound division and a 175-pound division. In terms of combating brutal weight cuts and fighters who risk their health as a result of weight cutting complications, this just might work. Who better to advertise the new weight class than the star of the promotion?
I believe that this is the easiest path for McGregor to a UFC title. As it stands, the featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight divisions became more defined in the Irishman’s absence. Unless McGregor can find another level of performance, he will fail to beat any of the champions in any of those divisions. At a new weight, he has no existing champ to contend with.
There is no doubt that Conor McGregor has the talent to be considered among the greatest fighters in the world. Although his return to the UFC was disappointing, in terms of his performance, he is back. No fighter can expect to be inactive for such a long time and simply dominate upon their return. McGregor can work himself into a position where he has the opportunity to reclaim gold, however.
Aside from talent, “The Notorious” also has the UFC on his side. As the face of the promotion, he will have opportunities that other fighters can only dream of. There is no question that the road will be made easier for McGregor, so it is up to him if he wants it that bad. If he can find his rhythm once more, Conor McGregor could realistically be a UFC champion at some point in the next year.
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