Who is Conor McGregor: Biography, Personal Life, UFC Career

Conor McGregor - the most spectacular fighters in UFC history -Photo: CBS Sports.com

Who is Conor McGregor - Biography

Conor McGregor is one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history.

A two-division champion in UFC, McGregor was for a time considered the king of combat sports, living a lavish life earning a nine-figure payday with the help of a dubious boxing match against Floyd "Money" Mayweather.

But while McGregor took naturally to the superstar life, it wasn't something into which he was born. Coming from a working-class family from the suburbs of Dublin, McGregor journeyed his way through childhood gyms, a stint as a plumber's apprentice, and eventual worldwide fame as the most "Notorious" fighter on the planet, and the biggest name in the UFC, according to businessinsider.com.

Below we take a look a McGregor's rise to the top of the world.

McGregor's early life

Conor McGregor was born on July 14, 1988, in Crumlin, Dublin, to Tony and Margaret McGregor. They claim he was born with clenched fists. He has two sisters—Erin and Aoife.

When Conor was 12, he began training in boxing at ‘Crumlin Boxing Club’ under Phil Sutcliffe. During this period, he developed a passion for football as well and played for a local club.

In Dublin, McGregor would meet his now longtime coach, John Kavanagh. After going into one of Kavanagh’s gyms, McGregor beat up two of the best fighters there in a sparring session that he took a bit too seriously. Kavanagh responded by “pinning him and throwing heavy blows until Conor promised he was there for training and not for a street brawl.”

He received primary and secondary education at a ‘Gaelscoil’ and ‘Gaelcholáiste’ respectively. Around the same time, he developed a passion for football and played association football in Tallaght. In his youth, he played for ‘Lourdes Celtic Football Club.’

Uninterested in school, McGregor took to plumbing as a trade and did what he could to make it a living for some time. There were times when he would work 12-hour days before heading to the gym to train as a fighter. It was around this time that he started dating his longtime girlfriend, Dee Devlin.

McGregor and his girlfriend Devlin (Photo: IrishMirror.com)

When gave up plumbing to train full time, his parents disapproved of the decision, so much so he and his father came to blows. "You’ll be sorry when I'm a millionaire," he told his father. "I remember saying, at 25 years of age I will be a self-made millionaire.”

That said, he hasn’t forgotten those roots. Just before McGregor left Ireland to train for his fight against Mayweather in Las Vegas, craftsman Trevor Sweeney drove over to his house and dropped off a project he had been working on for six months: a chess set made from plumber’s materials, emblazoned with McGregor’s logo.

When he was 18, his family moved to Lucan, Dublin, where he attended an Irish-speaking school. Here he met future ‘UFC’ fighter Tom Egan, and they started training in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Career of Conor McGregor

On February 17, 2007, Conor McGregor made his debut in MMA for the ‘Irish Ring of Truth’ in Dublin. It was an amateur fight against Kieran Campbell in which McGregor emerged victorious. Following his victory, he was signed by the ‘Irish Cage of Truth.’

The following year, he started training under John Kavanagh at the ‘Straight Blast Gym.’ He is left-handed and fights out of the southpaw stance, but uses conventional stances as well.

On March 9, 2008, he fought his first professional MMA bout, where he won against Gary Morris. Next, he won against Mo Taylor.

Although he lost his featherweight debut against Artemij Sitenkov, he won his next featherweight fight against Stephen Bailey. He also won his next fight against Connor Dillon, after which he moved back to lightweight and fought against Joseph Duffy, but lost the fight.

Between 2011 and 2012, he won both the ‘CWFC’ featherweight and lightweight championships, becoming the first European professional MMA to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.

In February 2013, ‘UFC’ signed Conor in a multi-fight contract. On April 6, 2013, he made his ‘UFC’ debut against Marcus Brimage. He won the bout, which earned him his first ‘Knockout of the Night’ award.

Photo: MMAWeekly.com

At UFC Fight Night 26, Conor McGregor fought against Max Holloway, and was victorious. During his fight with Holloway, Conor tore his anterior cruciate ligament, which required surgery. He was out of action for about ten months.

After his recovery, at UFC Fight Night 46 on July 19, 2014, he faced Diego Brandão in Dublin. He won the bout, and earned his first ‘Performance of the Night’ award.

On September 27, 2014, after Conor signed a second multi-fight contract with ‘UFC,’ he faced Dustin Poirier at ‘UFC 178,’ and won the fight. It was Poirier's first ‘UFC’ loss, and Conor earned his second ‘Performance of the Night’ award.

On January 18, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 59, he faced Dennis Siver and won the fight. About 13,828 people attended the bout. This victory earned Conor his third ‘Performance of the Night’ award.

Now Conor was expected to face Aldo at ‘UFC 189’ for ‘UFC Featherweight Championship.’ ‘UFC’ spent huge amount of money promoting the Aldo-McGregor fight. But suddenly, it was reported that Aldo had suffered a rib fracture and had pulled out of the fight. Conor was rescheduled to face Chad Mendes for the ‘Interim Featherweight Championship.’

Conor and Mendes faced each other in front of a record 16,019 spectators. It was another victory for Conor, and he won his fourth ‘Performance of the Night’ award.

Conor finally faced Aldo at ‘UFC 194’ on December 12, 2015, in Las Vegas in front of a record-breaking number of spectators. The event broke all previous records for a MMA event in the US. The fight was over in a very short time and was declared the fastest finish in any ‘UFC’ bout. Conor became the second undisputed ‘UFC Featherweight Champion’ in history. He also won his fifth ‘Performance of the Night’ award.

Next Conor McGregor was supposed to face Rafael dos Anjos for the ‘UFC Lightweight Championship.’ But dos Anjos withdrew from the fight after breaking his foot. Many competitors were asked to step-in to face Conor. Finally, former ‘UFC Lightweight Championship’ challenger Nate Diaz agreed to face Conor.

The bout began with Conor shifting stances, before establishing his signature left cross. He showcased a variety of kicks, but was forced to the cage by Diaz. Conor landed 28 to Diaz's 23 strikes. During the fight, Diaz wobbled Conor on several occasions. Finally, Conor gave in to the submission hold. It was Conor’s first loss in the ‘UFC,’ and his third overall. Both were awarded ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses, and Conor received the highest purse for any fighter in the history of the company, a total of $1,000,000.

A rematch with Diaz took place in August 2016. The bout was contested at welterweight at ‘UFC 202.’ Conor won the rematch, and was awarded ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. On November 12, 2016, at ‘UFC 205,’ Conor won against Eddie Alvarez.

After winning the ‘Lightweight Championship’ at ‘UFC 205,’ Conor took time off from ‘UFC,’ as the birth of his first child was due in May 2017. He also wanted to campaign for a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

Due to inactivity, Conor was stripped of his ‘Lightweight Championship’ after the conclusion of ‘UFC 223’ on 7 April.

It was announced on 3 August that Conor would return to the Octagon at ‘UFC 229’ on 6 October to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the ‘UFC Lightweight Championship’ in Las Vegas. Conor McGregor lost the fight in the fourth round via a submission, reports thefamouspeople.com.

McGregor Achievements

As McGregor goes into the ring against Mayweather with a clean slate in a new sport, take a look back at everything he’s accomplished in the UFC.

Photo: USAToday.com

Championship achievements

• McGregor is one of three fighters in UFC history to win the featherweight title and one of nine to hold the lightweight title.

• He is the only fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.

• He is one of three fighters in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes. Randy Couture and B.J. Penn also accomplished the feat.
• He is the only Irish champion in UFC history.
• He is one of six European-born fighters in UFC history to win an undisputed belt. Germaine de Randamie, Michael Bisping, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Bas Rutten and Andrei Arlovski also accomplished the feat.
• His 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 marked the fastest title-fight stoppage in UFC history.

Striking achievements

• McGregor has earned 18 of his 21 career victories by knockout. That includes seven of his nine UFC wins.

• His seven knockout victories since 2014 in UFC competition are tied for second most in the company behind heavyweight Derrick Lewis (eight).

• He is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn five or more consecutive knockouts.
• His six knockout victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied with Max Holloway for most in divisional history.
• His six knockdowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Holloway (eight).
• He is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn three knockdowns in a single fight on two separate occasions. Anderson Silva and John Lineker also accomplished the feat.
• He and Nate Diaz combined for 330 significant strikes landed at UFC 202, the third highest single-fight total in UFC history behind Diaz’s UFC 141 bout with Donald Cerrone (334) and Cub Swanson vs. Artem Lobov’s (332).

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