Conor McGregor is a mixed martial artist and boxer from Ireland. His background is in the Irish tradition of Gaelic football, where he played as a youth before turning his attention to MMA. He was born on July 14th 1988 to parents Tony and Margaret McGregor in Crumlin, Dublin. Conor has an older sister named Erin who also works for him. In 2007 Conor moved with his family to Lucan, Dublin where they still reside today.
In 2008 Conor decided not to complete his math degree at University College Dublin and in 2009 he began training with John Kavanagh, a coach who had previously trained boxing champion Katie Taylor. In 2011 McGregor met the woman of his dreams when he was matched up on Tinder with Dee Devlin. The two have been inseparable ever since and she has always been by his side as one of his most trusted confidants.
Conor’s first amateur MMA match took place in 2006 where he fought against Kieran Campbell for twenty minutes before winning via an armbar submission. His professional debut came three years later on March 14th 2010 when Conor faced Artemij Sitenkov under both OMMAC and IFC rules (McGregor won).
In his second fight he faced Vladimir Matyushenko who was a much more experienced fighter and McGregor lost in the second round. His third MMA match came against Shane Nelson, when Conor needed just thirty-eight seconds to knock out his opponent with an uppercut. After that victory Conor began pursuing boxing which would lead up to him becoming a dual champion.
McGregor is one of only three fighters ever to hold two titles from UFC at the same time: Featherweight Champion (defeated José Aldo) and Lightweight Champion (defeated Eddie Alvarez). He has been scheduled for nine Muay Thai fights but never made it past four rounds before switching focus back onto MMA where he found success.
In November 2016 Conor was ranked number 20 on the Forbes list of world’s highest paid athletes. He currently has a net worth of $54 million (£45m). The UFC star is also known for his larger-than-life personality and charisma, which he carries over to social media with more than 27 million followers on Instagram and Twitter combined.
In the UFC Conor is known for his devastating left-handed knockout power. He has faced some of the most formidable opponents in MMA and come out victorious each time, including Max Holloway, José Aldo Jr., Chad Mendes, Eddie Alvarez and Nate Diaz to name just a few. His boxing career saw him face off against Vasyl Lomachenko on July 11th 2018 where he lost by unanimous decision but still managed to land more punches than his opponent.
When Conor first joined the UFC he was not a well-known figure outside of Ireland. In 2013, he began appearing on The Ultimate Fighter which helped his popularity grow in North America and Europe. His fame continued to rise with appearances at award shows like ESPN’s 2015 ESPYS where McGregor was named ‘Best Male Athlete’ for that year among other accolades including being voted as GQs “Sportsman” of the Year 2016.”
In March 2017, Conor was linked to a multi-million dollar deal with the UFC which would see him become one of the biggest sports stars in the world. But things didn’t go as planned when he made his boxing debut and lost against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on August 26th 2017 in what is considered by many experts to be one of the most anticipated boxing matches of all time. It is estimated that Conor made $100 million (£80m) from the fight but his return to UFC has been met with mixed reviews.
In 2017 “The fight against Mayweather was so dominant that McGregor himself seemed to be struggling with the idea of what he should do next.” But since then Conor has gone on to win his two most recent fights, putting him back at number one contender status for the lightweight championship and solidifying his place as one of MMA’s all-time greats.
In 2019, UFC president Dana White announced that Conor is expected to return after a break following his victory over Khabib Nurmagomedov last October. When asked about possible opponents for McGregor’s comeback, Mr.White suggested Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson or Anthony Pettis but nothing has been confirmed yet.”
In conclusion, Conor McGregor has had a successful career in the UFC despite his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and is back at number one contender status for the lightweight belt. He will be looking forward to returning after a break following his victory over Khabib Nurmagomedov last October with Dana White suggesting Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson or Anthony Pettis as possible opponents.
