Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor is set to step foot in the boxing ring for the first time this Saturday when he takes on one of the greatest in boxing history – Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Notorious Irishman has a record of 21-3 as an MMA fighter but has never had a professional boxing fight in this life.
Mayweather’s boxing record as a professional stands at 49-0. His last loss came as an amateur at the 1996 Olympic Games in the semi-final – that’s more than two decades ago!
Many expect the 40-year-old American to make this his last fight whether he wins or loses, whilst McGregor is still the UFC Lightweight champion and is expected to return to cage fighting regardless of Saturday’s result.
18 of McGregor’s 21 wins have come by knockout – whilst all three of his losses have been via submission. Only two of his fights have gone the distance – one lasted three rounds, and the other five; each five-minute rounds.
This has led to some claiming that Conor McGregor won’t be able to go to the distance but we think he’s in fine shape. Or maybe he’ll just aim to finish the fight early.
Here are the 24 MMA fights that Conor McGregor has participated in:
Debut
Conor McGregor’s first MMA fight was on 8th March, 2008 in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. He defeated Gary Morris by TKO eight seconds into the second round with a fury of punches to his opponent who was trapped in the corner.
Cage Rage
His first fight was in a boxing ring before moving into a cage to fight Mo Taylor. The fight only lasted 66 seconds as McGregor quickly knocked his opponent to the ground before raining rights and lefts with a couple of knees before the ref jumped in.
First Loss
McGregor suffered his first loss in only his third fight when Lithuanian fighter Artemij Sitenkov locked him in a kneebar inside the first two minutes of the opening round at Cage of Truth 3.
First Round TKOs
The Irish fighter followed his first loss with a couple of quick TKO victories – firstly over Stephen Bailey, and then Connor Dillon, both in the first round.
Second Submission
McGregor’s ground game was exposed again at Cage Warriors as he was taken to the ground and forced to tap after only 38 seconds versus Joseph Duffy in November, 2010.
Six Successive Knockouts
Conor McGregor then went on a six match winning streak that consisted of only KOs and TKOs. Hugh Brady was defeated by TKO after only 2 minutes 31 seconds, then Mike Wood was knocked out after only 16 seconds.
Then came his quickest victory with a 4-second knockout of Paddy Doherty at Immortal Fighting Championship 4.
His record improved to 8-2 with a TKO victory in the second round over Polish fighter Artur Sowinski in June, 2011.
Aaron Jahnsen was the next victim as McGregor TKO’d him in Jordan during the first round.
In his first and only fight in London, England to date, McGregor successfully fought off a chokehold attempt from Steve O’Keefe to rain down a series of elbows on the side of his head to win by TKO.
A Submission of his own
His only submission victory to date came at Cage Warriors 47 in Dublin, Ireland on 2nd June, 2012 against Dave Hill. In what was his 13th fight and longest to date, he eventually got his opponent to submit in a rear-naked choke.
From Cage Warriors to UFC
By this time McGregor was starting to earn a name for himself inside the cage. His final fight for Cage Warriors would come on New Year’s Eve, 2012 with a knockout punch on Ivan Buchinger. The Slovakian headed into the fight with a 21-3 record but was knocked out in the first round with a left hand.
McGregor debuted for the UFC at UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi, in Stockholm, Sweden on 6th April, 2013. Marcus Brimage was his victim as the Notorious knocked him to the ground and finished him off with a series of punches for a TKO victory.
Going the Distance
The UFC flew him out to the United States next to take on the up-and-coming Max Holloway. Though the young American only had a 2-2 record in the UFC at this point, losing to McGregor in August, 2013 by unanimous decision has been his last loss to date, reeling off 11 straight victories, including the UFC Featherweight Championship.
UFC Fight Night Main Event
The UFC came to McGregor’s homeland for the Irish star to headline UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandão on 19th July, 2014. The Brazilian was knocked to the mat in the first round, then McGregor landed a few strikes before the referee stopped the fight.
UFC 178
Conor McGregor was promoted to a main UFC event to take on Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas, Nevada on 27th September, 2014. Poirier was an experienced fighter in the UFC but didn’t last two minutes with McGregor as he caught a left hand knocking him to the ground before a couple more strikes forced Herb Dean to bring an end to the contest. McGregor won the award for Performance of the Night.
Second Round TKOs
Victory over Poirier was followed up with back-to-back TKOs, both in the second round, at UFC events, against Dennis Siver and Chad Mendes.
José Aldo
José Aldo was unbeaten for a decade and the UFC Featherweight champion heading into his much-hyped fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 194 on 12th December, 2015. The Brazilian had been considered one of the greatest of all-time heading into the fight but was knocked out after only 13 seconds.
Nate Diaz 1 and 2
Next up for McGregor was American Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March, 2016. Although Conor McGregor had smashed up and bloodied his opponent’s face, he made the mistake in trying to take Diaz to the mat. A few seconds later the American had him tapping out to a rear-naked choke.
Five months later at UFC 202 they had a rematch, at the same venue in Las Vegas, Nevada. This would turn out to be McGregor’s longest fight of his career. He’d never gone beyond three rounds prior to this and this time went the full five rounds, beating Diaz by majority decision.
Latest UFC Fight
Conor McGregor last fought in the UFC on 12th November, 2016 against Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship. McGregor ended the fight with a 21-3 record after scoring with a number of punches to the American’s face for a TKO victory.
Betfair have produced the following infographic ahead of Saturday night’s huge fight:
