Conor McGregor (Mixed martial artist) Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish professional mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, and former UFC Featherweight Champion. During his career, McGregor has competed as a featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. In 2008, McGregor started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career and, in 2012, he won both the Cage Warriors Featherweight and Lightweight Championships, holding both titles concurrently before vacating them to sign with the UFC. In 2015, at UFC 194, McGregor defeated José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship via knockout thirteen seconds into the first round. This was the fastest victory in UFC title fight history. Upon defeating Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 205, McGregor became the first fighter in the UFC's history to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously. McGregor was born in Dublin, Ireland to Tony and Margaret McGregor. He was raised in the South Dublin suburb of Crumlin and attended a Gaelscoil and Gaelcholáiste at both primary and at secondary level in Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght, where he also developed his passion for sport playing association football. In his youth, he played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club. McGregor took up kickboxing and at the age of 12, he began boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club under two-time Olympian Phil Sutcliffe where he often trained alongside Dean Byrne and Jamie Kavanagh, both of whom went on to train at Wild Card Gym under Freddie Roach. McGregor later became an All-Ireland boxing champion at the youth level. In 2006, McGregor moved with his family to Lucan in West Dublin, attending Gaelcholáiste Coláiste Cois Life. Following that, he commenced a plumbing apprenticeship. While in Lucan, he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and they soon started training mixed martial arts (MMA) together.
Top 10 Conor McGregor Quotes
At the end of the day you gotta feel some way. So why not feel unbeatable? Why not feel untouchable.
There's only one thing that's impossible to beat... a man that doesn't give up.
Excellence is not a skill, excellence is an attitude.
I fear no man. If you breathe oxygen, I do not fear you.
Look out for those who look out for you. Loyalty is everything.
If you have a clear picture in your head of something that's going to happen... then nothing can stop it.
I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. Keep proving people wrong and proving myself right.
I’m cocky in prediction, I’m confident in preparation, but I am always humble in victory or defeat.
I don't care about anything I don't need to care about.
I have never encountered a winner that held hate towards something.
On 9 March 2008, McGregor had his first professional MMA bout, as a lightweight, defeating Gary Morris with a second-round TKO. After McGregor won his second fight against Mo Taylor, he made his featherweight debut in a loss via submission against Artemij Sitenkov. After a victory at featherweight in his next bout against Stephen Bailey, McGregor contemplated a different career path before his mother contacted his coach John Kavanagh and reinvigorated him to continue pursuing mixed martial arts.
McGregor then won his next fight, also at featherweight, against Connor Dillon, before moving back to lightweight for a fight against Joseph Duffy where he received his second professional loss after submitting to an arm-triangle choke. Following this, during 2011 and 2012, McGregor went on an eight-fight win streak, during which he won both the CWFC Featherweight and Lightweight championships, making him the first European professional mixed martial artist to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. In February 2013, UFC president Dana White made a trip to Dublin, Ireland to receive a Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from Trinity College and was inundated with requests to sign McGregor to the UFC. After a meeting with McGregor, and talking with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, White offered him a contract days later.
McGregor is known mostly as a striker and prefers to fight standing up as opposed to on the ground. McGregor is left handed and primarily fights out of the southpaw stance, but often switches to a conventional stance as well. He will frequently try to be the aggressor in his bouts. McGregor's boxing is typically considered his best skill, with the majority of his victories coming by way of knockout or technical-knockout via punches. Many pundits cite McGregor's pull-back left-handed counter as his most dangerous strike.
McGregor will almost always engage in trash talk and "psychological warfare" against his opponents which have led to comparisons to Muhammad Ali, whom McGregor cites as one of his early inspirations. After Ali died in June 2016, McGregor opined that "nobody will ever come close to [Ali's] greatness".
McGregor has two sisters, Erin and Aoife. He has been in a relationship with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, since 2008. McGregor and Devlin's first child, Conor Jack McGregor Jr., was born on May 5, 2017.
McGregor usually carries with him a hat that his grandfather frequently wore before he died. McGregor frequently trains in Reykjavik, Iceland, at the Mjölnir gym, alongside fellow UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson.
McGregor stated that he does not adhere to any pre-fight rituals or superstitions because he believes them to be "a form of fear".
In 2015, when Ireland was holding a nationwide vote on legalizing same-sex marriage, McGregor voiced his support saying, "We all deserve equal rights. We're all human here at the end of the day."
On November 30, 2016, McGregor obtained a professional boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission. On May 5, 2017, McGregor and his partner, Dee Devlin welcomed their first child. He was named Conor Jack McGregor.
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