The UFC has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and Conor McGregor has to take a huge amount of credit for bringing MMA to the masses.
5) UFC 196: McGregor vs Diaz – 1.3million
After winning the featherweight title at UFC 194, beating Jose Aldo just 13 seconds into the fight, McGregor was already a star.
McGregor was slated to meet Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title at UFC 196 but the Brazilian had to withdraw with a broken foot.
Nate Diaz stepped in as a late replacement and the American produced a major upset as he landed a first UFC defeat on the Irishman, winning by submission in round two.
4) UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone – 1.35million
After losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov (more on that later) at UFC 229 McGregor took a break from MMA and turned his attentions to projects outside of the sport.
He made his much-anticipated return to the octagon in January 2020 when agreeing to take on former lightweight title contender Donald Cerrone in Las Vegas.
McGregor needed just 40 seconds to wrap up an emphatic ground and pound victory in front of a packed house at the T-Mobile Arena.
3) UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor II – 1.6million
A rematch between McGregor and Diaz was inevitable after the former lost via submission at UFC and they squared off at UFC 202.
McGregor earned his revenge by way of majority decision in the Fight of the Night and a bout that will go down in the history books.
There was no love lost between the duo with plenty of verbals exchanged in the build-up and the main event, which broke the record for most PPV buys, didn’t disappoint as the pair finished proceedings bloodied and bruised.
2) UFC 257: Poirier vs McGregor II – 1.65million
McGregor’s fourth fight in the UFC came against Dustin Poirier and he made easy work of the American when securing a first round TKO victory.
A second meeting was always on the cards as they both went on to rise through the rankings in the following years and fans finally got their wish in January 2021.
UFC 257 saw McGregor eager to build on his win over Cerrone, but Poirier represented a much tougher challenge.
McGregor started brightly, but the Diamond shone in the second round, landing a series of heavy leg kicks before finishing The Notorious with a flurry of punches.
1) UFC 229: Khabib vs McGregor – 2.4million
The UFC 229 headliner will never be forgotten as two fighters at the peak of their game put their reputations on the line.
Tension had been building between the pair since UFC 223 when McGregor attempted to confront Khabib on a bus as he left the pre-event press conference.
McGregor subsequently threw a metal dolly at the bus, smashing the window and injuring other fighters in the process.
Things became even more tense in the weeks ahead of their slated bout at UFC 229 and, after Khabib went on to secure a fourth round submission win, things boiled over afterwards.
Khabib launched himself out of the octagon, attacking members of McGregor’s team, while members of his own entourage tangled with McGregor inside.
