In February 2013, Conor McGregor crossed the pond and signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC. The rest - as they say - is history. The fairytale rise of the Irishman was literally something out of a Hollywood movie, with his documentary "Notorious" a hit with fans. Many UFC fans would agree that the Notorious era was one the best in the organisation’s history and while his trash talking is a thing of legend, it’s the knockouts McGregor delivers that have made him the icon he is today.
With McGregor once again at the forefront of the MMA world, with speculation surrounding a future fight with Tony Ferguson, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back at all of the 32-year-old’s UFC knockouts and rank them.
8. McGregor vs Marcus Brimage
With 12 MMA career wins already under his belt, McGregor arrived in the UFC back in April 2013 when he faced Marcus Brimage in a featherweight bout. The Irish southpaw - determined to have an impressive UFC debut - defeated Brimage in the first round with a technical knockout.
It was McGregor’s uppercut which disoriented Brimage, followed by a barrage of punches with pinpoint accuracy. The win would earn McGregor his first "Knockout of the Night" award.
7. McGregor vs Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone
After just over 15 months away from the octagon, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion returned in January 2020 to face Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout which lasted only 40 seconds.
Still sharp as ever, McGregor took Cowboy by surprise with shoulder strikes to his face that left Cerrone bleeding. Stunned and disoriented, Cerrone took a head kick from McGregor and went down. With this spectacular win, McGregor became the only UFC fighter to register knockouts in three different weight divisions - featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.
6. McGregor vs Diego Brandão
After an impressive start to life in the UFC, McGregor headlined his first card for the company when he faced Brazilian Diego Brandão in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland in July 2014. The Notorious one - who had been sidelined for ten months with an ACL injury - returned to the Octagon with another spectacular TKO win in the first round.
Brandão, who comes from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu discipline, unsuccessfully tried to force McGregor into submission in the first few minutes. However, technically-sound McGregor evaded all manoeuvres without breaking a sweat before landing a combination that ended the fight in his favour.
5. McGregor vs Dennis Siver
The Irish juggernaut continued his sensational form when he met Dennis Siver inside the Octagon in January 2015. The fight lasted two rounds and ended with a technical knockout, with McGregor taking his UFC winning streak tally to five.
The 36-year old German was no match for the Irishman who was able to land clean punches almost at will. The Notorious was in total control right from the beginning and landed a straight left hand that put his opponent down. That was the beginning of the end for Dennis Siver.
4. McGregor vs Dustin Poirier
McGregor’s UFC winning streak tally rose to four with yet another first-round knockout win against Dustin Poirier. The 32-year-old immediately went offensive with a hook kick followed by a spinning back-kick to the body. Once Poirier hit the canvas the Irishman was quick to land a hammer fist and a few punches to the jaw to seal the victory.
The featherweight bout lasted only one minute and 46 seconds before the referee officially called it quits. It was McGregor’s first victory over a top 10 contender and a result that looks all the more impressive today, looking at the Diamond’s own rise into lightweight title contention.
3. McGregor vs Chad Mendes
For the first time in his UFC career, many were doubting McGregor’s chances as he took on Team Alpha Male star Chad Mendes. Although Mendes took the fight on short notice following an injury sustained to featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Money is a tremendously talented wrestler and a man many suspected would be too much for Conor.
It was the first time we’d seen McGregor forced to wrestle and while the American put on a tremendous effort, taking McGregor down four times and controlling a large portion of the fight, it was the Ireland native who emerged victorious. Capitalising on Mendes’ cardio gassing out, McGregor landed several brutal shots and KO’d Money in the final seconds of the second round, crowning him the interim featherweight champion.
2. McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez
The southpaw became the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in a lightweight championship bout back at UFC 205 in November 2016. As always, McGregor was in full control and knocked down Alvarez three times in the first round itself. The stunned American somehow survived the round, thanks to his defensive stance. In the second round, however, McGregor landed a series of one-two combos to the head and it was game over for Alvarez.
It wasn’t the actual finish that made this one so spectacular, but the many of the entire performance. Alvarez was the lightweight champion and had beaten many top fighters during his run in the UFC, so it was truly incredible to see McGregor dominate the Underground King from start to finish.
1. McGregor vs José Aldo
With 25 wins and one loss in his MMA career, Jose Aldo was widely regarded as the pound for pound greatest fight in the world heading into his bout with McGregor. Undefeated for over a decade, this was where many expected the Notorious One’s brash and blistering run through the feather division to be brought to an abrupt halt.
McGregor had other things in mind however and just 13 seconds into one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history, the Irishman dropped Aldo and quickly KO’d the Brazillian, sealing the fastest ever KO in a UFC title fight. Aldo hasn’t been the same since.
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