Conor McGregor

McGregor landed awkwardly on an early jumping kick, compromising his surgically repaired right knee. Repeated instability on the leg made the injury unmistakable before Holloway could open up. The referee halted the bout at 1:09 of round one, awarding Holloway the first-round TKO.

Key moments

• McGregor landed awkwardly on an early jumping kick, compromising his surgically repaired right knee.
• Repeated instability on the leg made the injury unmistakable before Holloway could open up.
• The referee halted the bout at 1:09 of round one, awarding Holloway the first-round TKO.

McGregor opened with a kick-heavy southpaw attack, but Poirier forced grappling after a guillotine attempt and settled on top. Poirier used pressure, elbows and posture control through the hard minutes of the round while McGregor worked from his back. When they returned to their feet late in the round, McGregor stepped back awkwardly and suffered the leg injury that ended the contest.

Key moments

• Poirier forced grappling after a guillotine attempt and settled on top.
• Poirier used pressure, elbows and posture control through the hard minutes of round one.
• McGregor suffered a lower-left-leg injury at the end of the round, leading to the doctor stoppage.

McGregor missed an opening left, then bloodied Cerrone with shoulder strikes after the fighters tied up. Cerrone tried to reset at range, but McGregor's left kick to the head put him in trouble. McGregor followed with punches as Cerrone covered along the fence, and Herb Dean stopped the fight at 0:40 of round one.

Key moments

• Shoulder strikes in the opening clinch bloodied Cerrone's nose.
• McGregor's left kick to the head put Cerrone in trouble as he tried to reset.
• Follow-up punches along the fence brought the referee's stoppage at 0:40 of round one.

McGregor dropped Alvarez early in the opening round and forced the champion to reset as the challenger established control of the exchanges. Alvarez looked to change the terms with wrestling, but McGregor defended three takedowns and continued to land the shots that produced three knockdowns. A counter left rocked Alvarez in round two, and McGregor finished the fight on the ground at 3:04.

Key moments

• McGregor dropped Alvarez early in the opening round and forced him to reset.
• McGregor defended three takedowns while continuing to land the shots that produced three knockdowns.
• A counter left rocked Alvarez in round two before McGregor finished the fight at 3:04.

The welterweight rematch, five months after Diaz had submitted him. McGregor leaned on heavy leg kicks and counter lefts, scored early knockdowns, survived a late Diaz surge and edged a majority decision in a 2016 Fight of the Year.

Key moments

• Majority decision (48–47, 48–47, 47–47) avenging the UFC 196 loss.
• McGregor scored multiple early knockdowns.
• Diaz rallied late and rocked McGregor in round two.
• Widely named the 2016 Fight of the Year.

McGregor controlled the first round on the feet, but gassed in the second, got wobbled by a Diaz combination, shot for a takedown and had his back taken — Diaz locked in the rear-naked choke at 4:12 of round two.

Key moments

• Diaz accepted the fight on 11 days' notice after dos Anjos pulled out.
• Contested at 170 lb because Diaz had no time to cut weight.
• McGregor shot a desperate takedown after being wobbled, gifting Diaz the back.

Thirteen seconds. McGregor feinted, drew a lunging right from Aldo, and countered with a precise left hook that dropped the long-reigning champion instantly — the fastest knockout in UFC title-fight history.

Key moments

• Fastest finish in UFC title-fight history at 13 seconds.
• A counter left hook off Aldo's own lunging attack was the decisive shot.
• McGregor had predicted the exact finish during the promotional build-up.

Mendes controlled much of the first round with three takedowns and opened a cut beside McGregor's right eye with a sharp punch. Mendes again controlled McGregor in the second round with punches and elbows before the finish turned the fight. McGregor slowed Mendes with punches, dropped him near the fence with a right jab and crossing left, and finished the late flurry.

Key moments

• Mendes scored three takedowns and opened a cut beside McGregor's right eye in the first round.
• Mendes controlled McGregor with punches and elbows in the second round before the finish turned the fight.
• A right jab and crossing left dropped Mendes near the fence before the 4:57 stoppage.

McGregor headlined TD Garden in Boston and made short work of Siver, using his length and timing to control the striking before landing a straight left that sent Siver into the fence in round two. The finish set up the José Aldo featherweight title bout.

Key moments

• Held at TD Garden in Boston before a partisan crowd.
• McGregor's movement and reach advantage made Siver look outclassed.
• A straight left hand to Siver's face set up the TKO finish in round two.

McGregor pressured Poirier with mixed attacks before a left hand caught a ducking Poirier on the temple and sent him to the canvas, where follow-up ground strikes forced the stoppage at 1:46 of round one. The finish drew controversy over the placement of the blow but stood.

Key moments

• First meeting between two fighters who would later headline three PPVs together.
• Left hand landed as Poirier ducked, raising questions about legality — the referee let it stand.
• Finished in 1:46 of round one at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

McGregor headlined his first UFC card in Ireland, performing in front of a sold-out home crowd at The 3Arena in Dublin. He stopped the hard-swinging Brandão with body work and a right hand in round one, earning a Performance of the Night bonus and cementing his status as Ireland's MMA star.

Key moments

• First UFC main event in front of a home crowd in Dublin.
• A body shot followed by a right hand dropped Brandão before the TKO at 4:05.
• Cole Miller was the original opponent; Brandão stepped in as a late replacement.
• Earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

McGregor shut out Holloway over three rounds in a solid second UFC appearance. The judges returned scores of 30-27 twice and 30-26 for McGregor. McGregor tore his ACL during the bout, an injury the UFC later described as nearly derailing the matchup.

Key moments

• McGregor shut out Holloway over three rounds.
• The judges returned scores of 30-27 twice and 30-26 for McGregor.
• McGregor tore his ACL during the bout.

McGregor's UFC debut — held in Stockholm, Sweden — was over in 67 seconds. He overwhelmed Brimage with fast combinations and finished with a right-left flurry on the ground, earning Knockout of the Night honours and introducing himself to a global audience.

Key moments

• Official UFC debut, finished in 1:07 of round one.
• Won the Knockout of the Night bonus — his first UFC performance bonus.
• McGregor called his shot before the fight, saying he would finish Brimage quickly.
• Held in Stockholm; McGregor was still largely unknown outside Ireland.

On New Year's Eve in Dublin, McGregor slipped a one-two from Buchinger and landed a counter left hand that dropped the Slovak instantly, winning the Cage Warriors lightweight title. He now held both the featherweight and lightweight belts simultaneously — a first for a European MMA fighter.

Key moments

• Won the Cage Warriors lightweight title — becoming a two-weight champion in the promotion.
• First European MMA fighter to hold titles in two divisions at the same time.
• A slipping counter left hand was the decisive, clean finish.

McGregor headlined Celtic Gladiator 2 in Portlaoise against Polish fighter Artur Sowinski and stopped him with punches in the second round.

Key moments

• Held at the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland.
• Second-round TKO — a sustained punching attack halted Sowinski at 1:12.
• Sowinski was an experienced opponent; the finish showed McGregor's growing power.

Four seconds. Doherty rushed forward and McGregor stepped back and landed a left hook that dropped him, with one follow-up punch prompting the stoppage. One of the fastest finishes in MMA history and a foreshadowing of the Aldo knockout four years later.

Key moments

• Four-second finish — one of the quickest in professional MMA history.
• Fought in Letterkenny, Ireland at Immortal Fighting Championship 4.
• The punch that ended it was a counter left hook off Doherty's own aggression.
• The same finish pattern — counter left on an advancing opponent — would later stop José Aldo in 13 seconds.

McGregor stopped a late-replacement opponent in 16 seconds at Cage Contender 8 in Dublin.

Key moments

• Wood stepped in as a last-minute replacement two days before the event.
• KO in 16 seconds — three left hooks on a retreating opponent ended it quickly.
• Wood suffered a broken orbital bone from the punches.
• Part of McGregor's quick-finish pattern in early 2011 on the Irish circuit.

The defeat sent McGregor to the sidelines briefly, and Duffy remained the last man to beat him by a clean submission — a distinction that held for years as McGregor rose to the top.

Key moments

• McGregor's second professional loss, and his most recent clean submission defeat.
• Arm-triangle applied and finished at just 0:38 of round one.
• Duffy became 'the last man to beat Conor McGregor' for years afterward.
• The loss briefly pushed McGregor toward quitting before he returned in 2011.

McGregor fought Dillon on the Chaos FC 7 card in Derry and earned a first-round TKO when Dillon's corner stopped the fight at 4:22.

Key moments

• Held at Chaos FC 7 in Derry, Northern Ireland.
• Corner stoppage TKO at 4:22 of round one.
• One of McGregor's least clean regional wins — he ate a head kick before taking over.

He put Bailey down on the feet, took mount and back control, and finished with ground strikes at 1:22 — demonstrating early grappling ability alongside his striking.

Key moments

• First fight back after his kneebar loss to Sitenkov six months earlier.
• McGregor showed ground finishing ability — mount and back control before the TKO.
• Held at Whitehall Colmcille GAA Club in Dublin, a local Irish MMA promotion.
• Third professional fight, still just 20 years old.

McGregor's first professional loss came against Lithuanian submission specialist Artemij Sitenkov, who pulled guard, endured some hammerfists, and quickly locked in a kneebar that ended the fight at 1:09.

Key moments

• Sitenkov pulled guard and found the kneebar despite taking early hammerfists.
• Finished at 1:09 of round one — a cautionary moment about ground exposure.
• McGregor was still a teenager competing in his second professional bout.

McGregor's second professional outing came two months after his debut, on a Cage Rage Contenders card in Dublin. He pressed Taylor into the cage with combination punching, dropped him, and finished with follow-up strikes before the minute-and-a-half mark — a dominant performance against a fellow newcomer.

Key moments

• Second professional fight, held just two months after his debut.
• Combination punching along the cage set up the finish.
• Both fighters were making early professional appearances.
• TKO at 1:59 of round one on a Cage Rage promotion in Dublin.

McGregor's professional debut, held at the Trinity Sports and Leisure Centre in Dublin against fellow first-timer Gary Morris.

Key moments

• Professional MMA debut for both McGregor and his opponent Gary Morris.
• Finished with ground-and-pound in round two.
• Held at the Trinity Sports and Leisure Centre in Dublin, March 2008.
• McGregor was 19 years old at the time of his first professional fight.