McGregor Mania: Top 5 Biggest Fights of Conor McGregor

The McGregor mania spread like a wildfire and created the biggest superstar MMA has ever seen, Conor McGregor. Conor changed the landscape of the fight business. With his persona, fight promotion, and performance inside the octagon, he achieved unprecedented glories. Every time he steps into the octagon, he breaks a new record And with his much-anticipated return around the corner we can expect fireworks when he steps into the ring at T-Mobile Arena. But before that let’s take a look at the top 5 biggest events the McGregor Mania has given to the sport.

The Money Fight: May-Mac

Conor McGregor became the most famous fighter in MMA history after the win over Eddie Alvarez. He made the impossible possible by holding two titles simultaneously. Conor would then jumped over to Boxing and fight one of the greatest of all time, Floyd Mayweather.

This was the second-biggest fight in history only behind the legendary fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The fact that Conor made the fans believe that he could go out there and defeat the best boxer of this generation in a boxing fight goes to say the impact Conor has in this sport.

Though Conor put a valiant effort in the early rounds, Mayweather picked him apart in the later rounds and won the fight via knockout. Going into the fight Conor was promised a fight purse of $30 million. However, as per Conor himself, he made close to $100 million in that fight. The PPV sales for the fight created history with 3.4 million PPV sales.

Related: Conor McGregor Controversies

The Notorious Bad Blood: Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov

In the biggest grudge fight of UFC history, Conor McGregor squared off against the unbeaten lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. From Conor throwing a dolly at Khabib’s bus to the heated exchanges between the two during the press conference, the hype for this fight was off the charts.

It was believed that this fight would even break the PPV sales of May-Mac. It was a phenomenal night as Conor made his octagon return after years. Though the outcome did not go in his favor, Conor was able to make another history as UFC 229 became the most successful UFC event when PPV sales are considered.

UFC 229 was a huge success as it sold 2.4 million PPV. The T-Mobile Arena recorded an audience of 20,034 to witness the bad blood between Conor and Khabib inside the octagon. The gate for his monumental event was 17.7 million dollars.

Conor McGregor got his biggest paycheck in UFC for the fight with Khabib Nurmagoemdov. He received a fight purse of 3 million dollars. With Conor looking to make his octagon return in 2020, the rematch between Conor and Khabib is very much a possibility. The records are made to be broken and the rematch will dwarf the record of UFC 229 for sure.

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The Biggest Rematch: Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz

After the monumental UFC 196, there was a question among the fans, where does Conor go next? Well, Conor called for a rematch against Nate Diaz to avenge his first loss in UFC and the stage was set again for the most anticipated rematch. Conor took on Diaz again at the same venue and at the same weight class at UFC 202, however, the outcome would be a lot different this time.

Unlike the first fight, Nate and Conor fought one of the most brutal fights. At the end of the fight, the crowds in the arena were at the edge of their seats, waiting for the judges’ decisions. The fortune favored Conor on this occasion as he won the fight via split decision. This fight opened up a possibility for a huge trilogy fight between the two individuals.

As far as the numbers are concerned, McGregor vs Diaz 2 blew the roof off with a 1.6 million PPV buys. UFC 202 recorded a crowd of 15,539 and a gate of $7,692,010. Conor McGregor received a massive paycheck of $3,090,000 ($3,000,000 to show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship). Well, his purse for next fight would dwarf Diaz fight by miles as jumped over the sport to fight Floyd Mayweather.

Related: Stories behind Conor’s tattoos

Beginning of the McGregor vs Diaz Saga

After shocking the world by knocking out Jose Aldo in 14 seconds, Conor McGregor became a global superstar. Fans started believing that Conor is a once in a lifetime attraction. But he did not have a dance partner who could go toe to toe with him inside the octagon and on the mic as well. And there came the favorite son of Stockton, Nate Diaz.

“Conor McGregor, You are taking everything I work for Motherf****r”, with this callout, began the rivalry between Conor and Nate, which changed the course of the fight game. McGregor vs Diaz was made official for UFC 196 and what a night it was! Conor was coming into the fight with an unbeaten record in UFC, but Nate Diaz shocked the world and submitted Conor in round 2. While a new star was born that day as Nate Diaz, UFC recorded the biggest PPV sale for UFC 196.

McGregor vs Diaz 1 sold over 1.3 million PPV. The gate was 8.1 million with an attendance of 14,697. Conor McGregor got 1 million even if the outcome did not go his way. Besides the fight purse, Conor got 50k for the performance of the night bonus and 40k for Reebok sponsorship.

Conor McGregor Creates History

After conquering the featherweight division, Conor would move up to lightweight in an attempt to capture a second title at UFC 205. initially, Conor was scheduled to face Rafael Dos Anjos for the title. However, he ended up facing Eddie Alvarez who defeated RDA to claim the lightweight glory.

Conor McGregor put up the best performance of his career and completely outclassed the lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez. He finished the fight in the second round to become the first-ever two-division champion.

UFC 205 smashed all gate record with 20,047 crowds and a total gate of 17.7 million. This set a new record of Madison Square Garden. Conor received a fight purse of $3,090,000 ($3,000,000 to show, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship). The PPV sales for UFC 205 went to 1.3 million, the 4th highest PPV sales in UFC history.

Latest: Khabib Nurmagomedov Might Attend UFC 246

Every time Conor fights it’s a blockbuster event. Though Conor has achieved some unprecedented numbers in fight promotion in the past, he can possibly surpass those numbers in the future. The rematch with Khabib Nurmagoemdov, the trilogy fight with Nate Diaz and the BMF title fight with Jorge Masvidal, Conor has some huge potential fights on his plate if he makes a successful return at UFC 246. Rest be assured, whenever Conor McGregor steps into the octagon history will be created.