Five famous Conor McGregor fights in Las Vegas
Conor McGregor is one of the most iconic UFC fighters in the history of the sport and he has had many famous wins in Las Vegas.
With McGregor returning to Vegas against Michael Chandler on June 19, here are some of McGregor’s most memorable fights in Sin City.
Conor McGregor vs Chad Mendes
In 2015, McGregor was fighting at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas against Chad “Money” Mendes. At the time of the fight, Mendes had a record of eight wins and two losses whilst fighting in the UFC. This was only McGregor’s second fight in Las Vegas.
McGregor beat the American in an entertaining fight, with the fight ending in a second-round TKO. However it wasn't easy for McGregor as he took more damage in this fight than in any of his previous fights.
At the start of the fight, McGregor was taunting Mendes and in the first round Mendes opened up a cut on McGregor’s right eye and also secured two takedowns.
However in the second round McGregor went into fight mode and landed a left cross which dropped Mendes to the floor - this was followed up by strikes on the ground, forcing the referee to stop the contest.
Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo
In 2015, McGregor had a fight in Las Vegas in the MGM Grand Garden Area against the Brazilian Mixed martial artist Jose Aldo, who is considered to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
McGregor managed to knock the Brazilian fighter out within 13 seconds which made him the UFC featherweight champion of the world.
McGregor predicted that he would only need one round to knock the Brazilian out.
In the first exchange of the fight Aldo threw a punch with power, however McGregor managed to counter the punch with a powerful and accurate left-hand punch which sent the Brazilian straight to the canvas.
Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz
On August 21, 2016 McGregor fought against Nate Diaz at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This was the second fight between the two fighters as Diaz had beaten McGregor in a major upset.
In the rematch, McGregor controlled the fight with his accurate strikes early on which troubled Diaz - however, Diaz managed to pick up some momentum towards the second half of the fight due to McGregor gassing out.
McGregor managed to pick up some second wind which helped him to win three of the five rounds, which is how two of the three judges scored the fight. After the fight McGregor called for a match as they had both won one fight each.
Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier
McGregor made his full Vegas debut fighting in the UFC against Dustin Poirier at the MGM Grand. McGregor had an 11-win streak going into this fight and was fighting Poirier, who was ranked fifth in the featherweight division.
McGregor started the fight full of energy and aggression, and he took control in the centre of the octagon and kept on firing kicks.
A lot of the kicks were actually missing, but he then went onto connect a left hook with Poirier’s right ear which sent him down to the canvas.
The referee was then forced to stop the fight after several punches to Poirier, who was on the deck taking punishment.
Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone
After McGregor suffered his second defeat of his UFC against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, he returned to the cage two years later to fight American Mixed Martial Arts fighter Donald Cerrone at the T-Mobile Arena. This fight was the last victory that McGregor has had in Las Vegas.
McGregor managed to return with an incredible comeback after his loss in the biggest fight in UFC history against Khabib by destroying Donald Cerrone within 40 seconds.
He shocked Cerrone with a head kick that had him rocked and after this McGregor was all over his opponent, eventually forcing the referee to call the fight to an end.
