30 Unknown Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The Notorious MMA Conor McGregor

Conor Anthony McGregor, an Irish professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer, is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. He is the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously. Here are some surprising facts about him:

1. McGregor is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion and former UFC Featherweight Champion.
2. McGregor is running on the underwater treadmill to get high intensity workout and maintain cardiovascular endurance without impacting the joints. He is scheduled to fight Floyed Mayweather on August 26 this year.
3. He was born on July 14, 1988 in Crumin, Dublin, Ireland to Tony and Margaret McGregor. He has two sisters named Erin and Aoife.
4. His passion for sports began during his school days at Tallaght, where he attended Gaelscoil primary school and Gaelcholaiste Secondary school.
5. He played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club in his youth and is a fan of Manchester United.
6. At the age of 12, he took to boxing and his first trainer was Phil Sutcliffe in Crumlin Boxing Club. He has watched film and documentaries on life of Muhammad Ali who was a big influence on his life.
7. His family moved to Lucan, when he was 17 years old. He had to travel changing two buses to train at Crumlin Boxing Club and at Crumlin Football Club. He trained for four hours daily.
8. At Lucan as a plumbing apprentice he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and took to mixed martial arts. From martial arts perspective, it was Chuck Liddell apart from Bruce Lee who influenced him.
9. At 18 years age he made his debut as an amateur fighter against Kieran Campbell on February 17, 2007. He won the bout via technical knockout in the very first round.
10. Turning professional he started training at Straight Blast Gym, Dublin from 2008 under John Kavanagh.
11. On March 09, 2008, McGregor went head-to-head with Gary Morris in his first professional MMA bout. The bout was in lightweight category, which he won by TKO in the second round.
12. He lost to Artemij Sitenkov in his first bout of featherweight division before winning his next bout against Stephen Bailey on December 12, 2008 by TKO in the first round.
13. After his fight with Bailey, he contemplated of quitting MMA for different career path. He was encouraged by his mother to continue pursuing MMA, for she believed he will be happy doing what he does best.
14. After almost out action for about 22 months, McGregor‘s comeback fight was on October 09, 2010, a first round win by technical knockout against Connor Dillon.
15. McGregor won his first title of his career ‘The Cage Warriors Featherweight Title,’ on June 02, 2012, when he defeated Dave Hill with rear naked chokes.
16. When he won his bout against Ivan Buchinger on December 31, 2012, for ‘Cage Warriors Lightweight Title,’ to become the first European professional mixed martial artist to hold two titles in different divisions, featherweight and lightweight, simultaneously.
17. In February 2013 the Ultimate Fighting Championship Company signed up McGregor for multi fight contract.
18. He won his first ‘Knockout of the Night’ award with his debut fight for ‘UFC’ on April 06, 2013. He defeated Marcus Brimage at the Ericsson Globe Arena, in Stockholm, Sweden by knockout in 1:07sec into the first round.
19. On August 17, 2013, he defeated Max Holloway by a unanimous decision of 30-27,30-27 and 30-26. This is his first fight of his career to be decided by points.
20. During his fight with Holloway, he injured his anterior cruciate ligaments which required surgery. He was out of action for ten months.
21. McGregor won his first ‘Performance of the Night’ award on July 19, 2014 in a TKO win against Diego Brandao. He used his customary spinning side kick and left hand counters against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
22. He won his second straight ‘Performance of the Night’ award when took on Dustin Poirier on September 27, 2014. This was his first fight against UFC Top ten featherweights, winning it by knockout.
23. As a prelude to his fight against Jose Aldo, the UFC Featherweight Champion, a promotional tour for 12 days to eight cities in five countries was embarked, before Aldo pulled out of the fight in light of injury to his ribs. The promotional budget was the highest in UFC history.
24. McGregor’s win over Chad Mendes on July 11, 2015, was witnessed by record attendance of 16,019 with gate collection of $ 7,200,000, the highest for mixed martial arts in the U.S then.He also earned his fourth ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for the fight.
25. The much anticipated bout against Jose Aldo was short lived, mere 13 seconds to be recorded as fastest of UFC title bouts. McGregor won by pinning Aldo to the canvas with left hook followed by two hammerfists.
26. The win crowned him as the second undisputed ‘UFC Featherweight Champion’ in history. The win also made him fifth consecutive ‘Performance of the Night.’ The bout also broke the attendance and gate collection record.
27. On March 05, 2016, he lost his first bout in many years, when Nate Diaz, pinned McGregor to submission with a rear naked choke at 4:12 into the second round. The bout was in welterweight division.
28. He is in steady relationship with his girlfriend Dee Devlin since 2008. They have a son Conor Jack McGregor Jr., who was born on May 05, 2017.
29. He often trains at the Reykjavik along with Gunnar Nelson. He obtained his professional boxing license on November 30, 2016 from California State Athletic Commission.
30. He used to keep his grandfather’s old hat in his gear bag, more as a reminder of who he was and where he came from, before UFC changed his life. Unfortunately, in the year 2014, his grandfather's hat was stolen from his car.
31. Conor McGregor Net Worth: $34 Million