Conor McGregor reflects on MMA career: "I held both belts"
Conor McGregor has had one of the greatest MMA careers in history, and he's now basking in the glow of his accomplishments.
Part of Conor McGregor's success came down to his self-belief and work ethic. They helped him reach heights that no other fighter ever has in terms of stardom, and he has now taken to social media to share his thoughts on what helped him reach the top of MMA.
Conor McGregor talks keys to UFC success
Back in 2013, Conor McGregor made his UFC debut at UFC on Fuel TV 9. It was a stellar first-round TKO of Marcus Brimage that put the former two-division Cage Warriors champion on everyone's radar. No one, though, was prepared for what came next. 'The Notorious' went on an undefeated featherweight run, culminating in a 13-second knockout of José Aldo at UFC 194 that earnred him the promotion's featherweight belt. Rather than defend the belt in a rematch, McGregor moved up a division in pursuit of the lightweight title, which was, at the time, held by Rafael dos Anjos.
The two men were expected to face each other at UFC 196, but a broken foot forced dos Anjos to withdraw from the bout. McGregor opted to stay on the card and accepted a short-notice opponent in the form of the foul-mouthed Nate Diaz, who stunned the world by beating him via submission in round two. They then had a highly anticipated rematch at UFC 202, which McGregor won via majority decision, after which he went on to defeat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt at UFC 205, TKO'ing him in round two. The win was historic, crowning McGregor as the first-ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion in history.
Now, many years later, he has offered insight into what helped him achieve everything he has by calling back to an old quote about success demanding constant effort.
"I was saying this back in 2014. Two years later, I held both belts. There was no perfect run to that night. If you've taken a knock, look at it straight. Keep what worked. Change what didn't. Go again. Back yourself."
McGregor went on to become the biggest star in MMA history, drawing a record 2.4 million pay-per-view buys for UFC 229 during the promotion's PPV era. He headlined the event with Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing the lightweight title fight via fourth-round submission. He also faced the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match prior, losing via 10th-round TKO. While his fights remain the biggest box office attractions in MMA, McGregor's success in the cage has waned. He managed just one win since the loss to Nurmagomedov, and that was a first-round TKO of an aging Donald Cerrone on a two-fight losing streak at UFC 246.
Since then, McGregor has been on a losing streak of his own, with three consecutive losses. His latest loss came at UFC 329 in what was billed as a comeback after a five-year absence. He faced Max Holloway, but injured his own knee early in round one, losing via TKO and leaving his fighting future in murky waters.
