Conor McGregor has won both the UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Championships. He quickly rose to fame as one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.
“I'm not going to get somewhere and say, 'OK, I'm done.' Success is never final; I'll just keep on going. The same way as failure never being fatal. Just keep going. I'm going to the stars and then past them.” - Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor Facts
1. Erin Go Bragh
Conor McGregor was born in Dublin, Ireland. He is the first Irish man to ever join the UFC.
2. Boys Will Be Boys
As a kid growing up in Ireland, Conor would get into fights with some of the neighborhood kids. When the scuffle was over, he found himself analyzing every move of the fight that just happened. If he lost, he was thinking about moves that would help him win the next time. He felt like it was necessary in order to keep himself safe.
3. Life-Changing Moment
One of the worst fights he ever got in as a kid was when he liked a girl from his school who had an older boyfriend. The boyfriend got jealous, and got all of his friends together to jump Conor. The traumatic experience made him very motivated to actually start training how to fight in martial arts.
4. Time to Learn
After getting into one too many schoolyard scraps, he joined up in kickboxing and ju jitsu classes, to learn real fighting techniques when he was 12 years old.
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5. Footballer
Along with going to fighting classes, he also joined up with a local football club to play soccer after school. These sports helped keep him out of trouble.
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6. Give Peace a Chance
As an adult, Conor McGregor advocates against bullying, and goes to youth centers to speak to kids about the importance of non-violence.
Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images
7. He’s Going Somewhere
In 2007, he fought in the Irish Ring of Truth as his first amateur fight with an audience. The owners of the Irish Cage of Truth were impressed with him, so they signed him on for a sponsorship.
8. Going for the Gold
In 2008, he won the title of Cage Warrior Featherweight Champion. He also won the Lightweight Championships for MMA.
9. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
In 2009, UFC 93 came to Dublin, Ireland. Conor McGregor was in the crowd, watching the fight. Once he saw it face-to-face, he became confident that he could handle going up against professional fighters.
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10. Nearly Perfect
In his entire professional career, Conor McGregor only lost 3 fights. His record is 21 to 3.
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11. Self-Doubt
One of his first professional losses was only his third fight in his professional career. This made McGregor seriously question if he was meant to become a pro MMA fighter. He stopped going to practice, and his parents started to worry about him, because he was hanging out with some bad dudes. His coaches had to step in and talk him out of his slump so he could get back in the ring.
12. Sight Unseen
President of the UFC, Dana White, was visiting Dublin, Ireland in 2013 on vacation. He wasn’t even trying to do business, but people were recognizing him in pubs, and telling him that he needed to watch Conor McGregor fight. After hearing multiple people tell him the same thing, he decided to contact Conor, and gave him a contract without ever seeing him fight.
Andrius Petrucenia, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
13. The Debut
He officially joined the UFC as a fighter in 2013 . He fought against Marcus Brimage, and it aired on Fuel TV.
14. Leaky Pipes
Before becoming a professional fighter, Conor McGregor worked as a plumber in Ireland.
Barcex, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
15. Both Bark and Bite
He has a reputation for smack-talking his opponents during a fight. There are times when he even begins screaming at them before the opponent gets a chance to open their mouths. This is part of his intimidation technique. “You beat him verbally. You beat him mentally, and then finally, you beat him physically. That's the three ways to beat a man.”
16. Heroes
People have called Conor McGregor “the new Muhammad Ali” because they both share the same trash-talking style and track record for victories. McGregor humbly denies the comparison, but admits that he is a huge Muhammad Ali fan.
Unknown Artist, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
17. Fast and Furious
He has knocked out a fighter in the record of only 4 seconds.
18. Keep Your Enemies Closer
His main rival is a fighter named Jose Aldo. He has publically trash-talked him during interviews, saying how he is always eager to fight him.
19. Momento
He carried around one of his grandfather’s old hats. It’s wasn’t exactly a superstitious good-luck charm. He claims that it reminded him of where he came from, and keeps him down-to-earth. Sadly, his bag was stolen from his car in 2014, and his grandfather’s hat went along with it.
Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images
20. Overnight Success
At a press conference after winning one of his fights, he told the audience with a huge smile on his face how only a week earlier, he was collecting social welfare. The prize money meant that it was no longer necessary for him to live in poverty.
Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images
21. Make an Entrance
His walkout song is called “Foggy Dew” by Sinead O’Connor & The Chieftans. Their music is very traditionally Irish-sounding. His walkout song was almost “Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphy’s, which is also very Irish.
22. Represent
He is known for wrapping himself in the Irish flag when he makes an entrance.
Christian Petersen, Getty Images
23. Non-Stop Adrenaline
Apparently, Conor McGregor thinks about fighting 24/7. He reports waking up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge to punch something. Even his own trainer called him “obsessed.”
24. One Tough Cookie
Conor McGregor gets hurt on a regular basis, but that doesn’t stop him from doing his best. In a fight against Max Holloway, he tore is ACL, and still somehow managed to fight through the pain and win.
25. Putting Up Blinders
Conor McGregor says that he doesn’t allow the outside world to distract him from succeeding in fighting. “I am in the fighting game. I don't care about anything else. I don't watch the news, I don't care about politics, I don't care about other sports. I don't care about anything I don't need to care about. This is my sport: it is my life. I study it; I think about it all the time. Nothing else matters.”
26. Appearances Matter
He is known for going out on the town looking great in designer clothes. At the 2014 VIP Awards in Ireland, he was voted as the Most Stylish Man. He was quoted saying, “There are two things I really like to do: Whoop ass, and look good.”
27. One Tough Family
According to Conor McGregor’s dad, their family is full of “outlaws.” He attributes that to his son’s “fighting blood.” It may be true that this runs in their family, because Conor’s sister is also a bodybuilder.
28. Spiritual, not Religious
Conor McGregor has been quoted saying that he reads books on The Law of Attraction. He also says that while he is not religious at all, he channels his faith and belief in himself, rather than asking God for help. He credits this mindset for his success.
29. Yummy
Conor says he loves to train, but the only difficult part about getting ready to compete is watching his diet so that he doesn’t change his weight class. He says he can’t wait until he get older and retires. “I’ll be a little happy fat guy.”
30. Equal Rights
In 2015, when Ireland was voting whether they were going to allow same-sex marriage or not, Conor McGregor publicly showed his support for the LGBT community.
William Murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
31. Can’t Knock the Hustle
Some athletes and celebrities take offense to “fake fans” who get autographs just to resell them on eBay. Conor McGregor has publically said that he doesn’t mind at all. Coming from a poor background, he actually respects their hustle to wait in line in order to make a few bucks.
32. Influencer
Conor McGregor signed endorsement deals with Beats by Dr. Dre and Anheuser Busch brewery. This means he will make millions in marketing with them.
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33. That’s Cool?Con
Conor has a script tattoo written on this leg. He claims that he had no idea what it said, he just thought it looked good.
Christian Petersen, Getty Images
34. McGregor. Conor McGregor.
He was offered the role of one of the many villains in the James Bond movie Spectre. He thought about it for a while, but eventually decided to turn it down.
35. Commitment
Conor McGregor’s girlfriend, Dee Devlin has been with him since the very beginning. She even quit her job to help him manage the new business of being a fighter.
36. Oh, Baby
Conor McGregor has been dating his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, for nearly 10 years. They had their first child together in 2017. They named him Conor Jack.
Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images
37. Start Them Young
On his instagram, Conor McGregor has photos of his son on the boxing ring. It’s very likely that he will be teaching him how to fight, when he’s old enough. Could there be a McGregor legacy?
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38. Looking Up
After only being a professional fighter for a handful of years, he quickly made it to the list of Forbes Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes.
39. Taking Care of Business
Conor McGregor has an estimated net worth of more than $50 million. While he has admitted to feeling “obsessed” with money, he says he does it to make sure his future family is financially secure. He loves to spoil his family and girlfriend.
40. The Real-Life Rocky
Leading up to the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, people were calling him the “Real-Life Rocky.” Even Sylvester Stallone himself vocally endorsed McGregor as his favorite to win.
41. Raking in the Cash
Whenever Conor McGregor is fighting, the UFC makes millions of dollars. This makes him one of the highest paid fighters in his sport. In the fight against Floyd Mayweather, it was estimated that the revenue would bring in $400 to $500 million for a single fight. Obviously, he only earns a fraction of that, but it’s still a massive amount of money.
Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images
42. Home Sweet Home
Conor McGregor calls his house in Las Vegas “The McMansion.” He says that living in Las Vegas feels like he is always on vacation, and he has tons of fun training with his fellow fighters, and then coming home to hang out in his massive Games Room.
LasVegasGuy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
43. Inked
When he first began his fighting career, Conor McGregor didn’t have any tattoos. As time went on, he got more and more. The most noticeable is the massive gorilla tattoo on his chest. He said that the worst pain he ever experienced in his life was when he got the gorilla tattoo.
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