Introduction
Find out here all of the latest details for Conor McGregor's next UFC fight. Also the Conor McGregor Vs Nate Diaz betting odds from the leading online casinos. Explore the list of the top rated gambling sites that offer the best lines for the fight of McGregor vs Nate Diaz.
Early morning on Tuesday March 26th, 2019 Conor McGregor aka “The Notorious” or “Mystic Mac” tweeted to announce that he is retiring from his MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) career. I assume that he will not box again professionally as he has only participated in one professional boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August 2017.
First Retirement
McGregor is only 30 years old, and he is still in fighting shape. I would not be surprised if he comes out of retirement to fight once again. Conor retired from MMA back in April of 2016 saying at the time, “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.”
Return to Competition
- Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov is a clash of styles that the sport of MMA was created for. Perhaps the best striker in the game vs the best grappler in the game is a dream fight for UFC fans and Nurmagomedov, the current UFC lightweight champion, is favored to win at -155 with McGregor coming back at +125.
- Conor McGregor Mocked for Starring in Joker-Themed Gambling Advert. UFC legend dressed as The Joker and squared up to a cat inside a cage; Fans have made fun of the gambling ad, with some viewers calling it 'garbage'.
After Conor retired the first time in 2016 he returned to fight 4 times. Three were MMA fights in the Octagon of the UFC, and the other fight was the above-mentioned record-breaking boxing match against Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas, Nevada back in 2017.
Latest Retirement Announcement via Twitter
This is what Conor McGregor said today on Twitter, “Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today. I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition. I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement. Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!”
Conor McGregor’s MMA Career
McGregor began his professional Mixed Martial Arts career began back in March of 2008 when he fought in the lightweight division of the UFC against Gary Morris. The Notorious defeated Morris by TKO (punches) in the second round. Conor’s second fight consisted of him beating Mo Taylor once again by TKO (punches). McGregor made his featherweight debut in which he lost due to submission versus Artemij Sitenkov.
Prior to joining the UFC, he lost only one more time against Joseph Duffy, but he won the rest of his fights making him 12-2 overall mostly fighting in Cage Warriors, which is an MMA promotion based out of the United Kingdom. Highlights included him winning the Cage Warriors lightweight championship versus Ivan Buchinger, and the Cage Warriors featherweight championship against his opponent, Dave Hill. Both of those fights took place in 2012.
UFC Career
Conor McGregor made his UFC debut on April 6th, 2013 in UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi. McGregor fought Marcus Brimage in a featherweight match located in Stockholm, Sweden, and he won the fight in the first round via TKO (punches). He then went on to win his next four fights against Max Holloway, Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier, and Dennis Siver.
Those contests led up to him fighting Chad Mendes for the interim UFC featherweight championship. McGregor won the fight in the second round by TKO (punches). He then beat Jose Aldo on a knock out punch in which he won and unified the UFC featherweight championship.
He then fought Nate Diaz in the welterweight division and lost via submission in a rear naked choke resulting in McGregor retiring. He came out of retirement to rematch Diaz a few months later and this time Conor won by decision (majority). He then went on to fight Eddie Alvarez in November of 2016 and won by TKO (punches). This win made Conor the UFC lightweight champion of the world. He was later stripped of that title due to inactivity.
Last UFC Performance
The last time Conor McGregor fought professionally in the Octagon he matched up against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight championship. Khabib was known for his outstanding ground game, and he used wrestling holds to make his opponents tap out or submit. Conor doesn’t excel going to ground and he prefers to use his boxing talents to knock out his opponents. This is why so many people enjoy watching his battles in the cage.
The fight went 4 rounds until Khabib got McGregor to tap out after being put into a strong neck crank by Nurmagomedov. Once the fight had officially ended it wasn’t actually done as this UFC 229 had quite the conclusion. Khabib’s cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and a couple of his cornermen, Esed Emiragaev and Zubaira Tukhugov started a scuffle with Conor McGregor where punches were exchanged.
The melee was believed to be inspired by something McGregor said about their nationality and or religion. The Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld Nurmagomedov’s payment for the fight which was $2 million. After an investigation the released half of the purse to Khabib. McGregor was fined $50,000 and suspended for 6 months.
Professional Boxing Career
On the 26th of August 2017 Conor McGregor boxed Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Paradise, Nevada. Mayweather Jr. won the fight by TKO in the 10th round of 12 rounds when the fight was stopped by the referee. McGregor was praised for lasting that long and landing 111 of 430 punches thrown (26%).
Mayweather made $100 million and Conor made $30 million for the boxing match. It was announced that the fight recorded the 2nd highest buy rate in the United States and Canada at 4.3 million pay-per-view buys. After that fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired with a perfect record of 50-0 which is a professional boxing record. That was the only time Conor McGregor boxed professionally as of now.
Whiskey Business
In September of 2018 Conor McGregor launched Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey which has become extremely successful. It is being sold in the United States of America and Ireland. It is so popular in Ireland that customers of Tesco stores are limited to buying only 2 bottles per visit. McGregor is planning on expanding the reach of his whiskey to the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Canada in 2019.
Dana White’s Reaction to the Retirement
UFC president Dana White told ESPN that McGregor's retirement 'totally makes sense.' White also said he believes the announcement is legitimate.
'He has the money to retire, and his [Proper 12] whiskey is KILLIN it,' White said via text message. 'It totally makes sense. If I was him, I would retire too. He's retiring from fighting. Not from working. The whiskey will keep him busy, and I'm sure he has other things he's working on.”
'He has been so fun to watch!!! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him, and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the Octagon as he was in it.'
Source:
'UFC's McGregor says in tweet that he's retiring', Brett Okamoto, espn.com, March 26, 2019
Written by: David Green
At one point in his career, Conor McGregor’s weaknesses were seemingly no match for McGregor’s strengths inside the Octagon.
The rise of “The Notorious” in the UFC was one of the greatest periods of modern mixed martial arts. But over the past years, the Irishman has polarized even his own fanbase for his antics outside of the cage. It’s fair to say that is just as ‘notorious’ for his transgressions in the public domain as he is for his skills within the eight walls.
Throwing dollies through bus windows, punching old men in bars, smashing up phones, and other mindless acts have seen him feed headlines to newspapers and appear in front of judges on multiple occasions.
But today, I’m going to play a different type of judge. Think of it as an exercise of adjudicating the strengths and weaknesses of Conor McGregor.
This should be interesting to most UFC fans, and it’s especially useful to consider when you’re betting on McGregor fights.
Let’s get started with what he does well.
Conor Mcgregor News Twitter
Inside the cage, McGregor is known for being a dangerous striker.
But is that all he has to offer? Well, absolutely not. You don’t get to the upper reaches of the tree in two divisions without having something special. But let’s not dance around the fact that he is one hell of a striker.
Power
Of all of his attributes, McGregor’s power is probably his X-factor. There is no doubt that it is what he is most respected for, and for good reason.
Conor knocked out then champ Jose Aldo with one punch within just 13 seconds of the first round, making it the fastest finish in a UFC title fight in history. “Nobody can take my left-hand shot,” he proudly boasted after the fight.
Although he does have power in his right hand also, it’s his left hand, the “Celtic Cross,” that is his lethal weapon.
Timing
It could be argued that timing is actually a more important fighting attribute than power.
Sure, it’s great to be able to knock a man out with one punch, but if the punch isn’t timed properly it won’t land flush, rendering it almost useless. Eddie Alvarez discovered the deadly accuracy of McGregor’s timing first hand, in a fight that was largely a one-sided beat down.
Unlike Aldo, Alvarez wasn’t put down with one punch, rather it was death by a thousand cuts. For every punch Eddie threw, Conor would neatly time and counter back with two or three hard shots of his own, eventually putting Alvarez down for good 3 minutes into the second round.
McGregor is one of those rare fighters that make it difficult to know exactly how tough his chin is.
The reason for this is that his footwork is so supreme he rarely gets hit with hard shots, as he tends to remain out of range until he is ready to engage. This has saved him a lot of punishment and is the reason why he has never been knocked out in a UFC bout.
Sure, he got stopped by Mayweather, but at no point did he hit the canvas, and besides, it’s Floyd Mayweather, right?
Perhaps the hardest shot that McGregor has taken in his MMA career was landed by his rival, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Conor mistakenly braced for a takedown attempt and got cracked with an overhand right. One that no one saw coming.
Other than these two examples, McGregor’s chin has been largely untested as his elusive footwork and distance management skills have saved him from being slept on pretty much every other occasion.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses? We all have them, right? Even Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, had a bum ankle.
And while McGregor has his strengths, he has also been criticized for a couple of glaring weaknesses in his game. Let’s take a closer look at some of the shortcomings of the former champion.
McGregor’s greatest concern has always been his cardio.
In almost every fight he has, he can be seen breathing heavily from the mouth after just two or three rounds in, sometimes even after the first round. Many opponents have sought to capitalize on this weakness and drag him into deep waters in the later rounds once his footwork slows down and his power fades.
Conor recognizes this weakness himself and paced himself much better in his rematch with Nate Diaz. Getting yourself submitted via a rear-naked choke within just two grueling rounds of relentless Diaz pressure will do that for you.
Unfortunately for McGregor, some attributes can be improved but not removed. And while his pacing has gotten better he has still suffered from early fatigue in subsequent bouts.
Another weak part of Conor’s game has been his takedown defense.
Although he displayed noticeable improvements in the fight against wrestling-heavy Khabib, it wasn’t enough to save him from being taken to the canvas on several occasions. Once down, it is very difficult to get up against a wrestler, especially someone as jaw-droppingly dominant as Khabib, and most of the Dubliner’s lost rounds have come as a result of his lack of takedown defense.
Ground Game
McGregor has lost just four times in his entire MMA career. The common denominator is that every single loss has come by way by submission.
Conor Mcgregor Mma Record
Even in fights he won, he was forced to overcome great adversity against wrestlers and grapplers alike. Chad Mendes, for example, is much smaller than Conor. A fact that The Notorious used to relentlessly mock him in the pre-fight build-up.
However, despite the smaller man’s stature, Chad was easily able to control and manhandle McGregor on the ground. This made the fight more difficult than it otherwise would have been. Fortunately for McGregor, his power saved him once again and he was able to use the mighty left-hand equalizer to knock Mendes out at the end of the second round.
Conor McGregor is a well-rounded fighter who can inflict devastating damage with his left hand whilst using his slick footwork to avoid taking much himself.
Opponents believe that exploiting his weaknesses, such as in his cardio, could lead them to victory. By taking him to the ground and turning up the pace when McGregor begins to tire, this is the best way to dismantle the Irishman.
Perhaps the reason why Khabib had such success against McGregor is that Nurmagomedov is known for his dominant wrestling and unrelenting cardio, the two areas that Conor struggles with the most.
On the balance of things, McGregor is an excellent fighter that is not without his flaws.
Conor Mcgregor Statistics
Want to learn more about other MMA competitors? Check out our guide to UFC fighters.