Conor McGregor retires: The Irishman's top-three fights

UFC bad boy, Conor McGregor has called time on his MMA career for the third time in four years. Here's a look at some of his best moments in the Octagon.

Published : Jun 07, 2020 19:52 IST

The greatest showman calls it a day, once more.
The greatest showman calls it a day, once more.
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The greatest showman calls it a day, once more.

Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor announced his retirement from the sport, via a Twitter post, on Sunday.

Nicknamed ‘The Notorious’, the Irishman has previously announced his retirement twice.

In April 2016 he announced his retirement with the now-famous “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later” tweet.

 

In March last year, he announced his retirement again months after being battered into submission by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor is one of the most popular fighters in MMA history and has a record of 22-4. He was the first UFC fighter to hold two championship belts at the same time.

Here are three of the biggest fights of his career:

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13 seconds are all it took for Conor to seal this bout in his favour.

1) Jose Aldo [UFC 194; December 2015]

McGregor is anything but shy and quiet, in general, and especially before a clash. This fight was one year in the making and was rightly marketed as the clash of the best.

Going into the clash, Brazilian Aldo was on a ten-year unbeaten run and money was on him to shut down the ‘brash’ Irishman.

However, the fight was over within a few blinks. Just 13 seconds in, McGregor’s left hand sent Aldo to the floor and sealed his superstar status.

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What seemed like an easy, straightforward result was anything but.
 

2) Nate Diaz [UFC 196; March 2016]

Diaz came into the fight as a replacement for the then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. A late replacement put in the ring against a man on top of the sport. What seemed like an easy, straightforward result was anything but.

McGregor won the first round with ease but the fight turned on its head after that. The American found his timing and forced the Irishman on the backfoot. Even McGregor’s strong left hand couldn’t bail him out and Diaz won via submission.

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At stake was the interim belt. McGregor managed to seal a knockout with just seconds left on the clock.
 

3) Chad Mendes [UFC 189; July 2015]

The much-anticipated fight against Aldo was almost called off because of an injury the Brazilian sustained days before the clash. At stake was the interim belt.

However, Chad Mendes was drafted just ten days before the event and the match looked like another one that McGregor would rather forget quickly.

Mendes started strong, taking down McGregor in the first round with ease. The American was again all over McGregor in the second but he lacked the stamina to finish the job. He managed to seal a knockout with just seconds left on the clock.

If an injury replacement gave McGregor one of the lowest points of his career, another gave him one of the best.

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