How big is Conor McGregor: Does he have a size advantage over the rest of the UFC lightweights?
Over the years, Conor McGregor has gone up and down UFC weight classes to meet different opponents, without backing away from the challenge, whether he needed to put on the pounds or cut them down.
Even though he has come a long way since his somewhat gaunt Featherweight days, Conor McGregor has always managed to look good inside the Octagon and use his physique more or less to his advantage.
As Conor McGregor gears up for a Lightweight bout once again against Dustin Poirier, let's take a look at his height, size, reach, and other vital statistics, and whether they give him an advantage over his opponents inside the cage.
Conor McGregor - Weight
All UFC fighters have to weigh in under the upper limit of the particular weight class before the fight. Right now, Conor McGregor is training to meet the 155 pounds mark for his fight against 'The Diamond' on January 23.
Previously, he has fought at 170 lbs. and 145 lbs. and was a Champion at Featherweight. Conor McGregor has successfully made weight every time.
However, by the time the fighters get inside the cage, there are differences in their current body weight. One of the only times it seemed to make a difference was in his first encounter with Nate Diaz.
Conor McGregor went up two weight classes to fight Nate Diaz at Welterweight and there was probably a huge weight difference between the two in the actual fight. Conor McGregor weighed in at 168 lbs.
Chael Sonnen pointed out on the You're Welcome podcast that it was a never-done-before attempt, and even though Conor McGregor submitted to Diaz, the weight cover in itself was commendable.
"Okay, he’s the 145 pound champ and skips 155 and moves all the way up to 170. Covers a three weight spread right there. That just doesn’t happen. Nobody has even attempted it. Let alone done it successfully... Nate went to bed the night before the fight at 183-pounds. He probably got in to the cage at 181-pounds. Conor probably came in to the ring at 166-pounds. So you’re looking at about fourteen to fifteen pounds right there. That matters at the size."
Conor McGregor - Height
When it comes to height, Conor McGregor is the shortest among the top five Lightweights at the moment.
'The Notorious' stands at 5 ft. 9 inches tall, an inch shorter than one of his greatest rivals, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is 5 ft. 10 inches.
Other top Lightweight fighters stand even taller, such as Justin Gaethje at 5 ft. 11 inches and Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker at 6 ft. The other Lightweight Conor shares his height level with is his next opponent, Dustin Poirier.
But what Conor misses out in height, he makes it up with reach and other stats.
Conor McGregor - Reach
Conor McGregor has one of the better reaches among the top Lightweight fighters right now.
With a whopping 74 inch reach, Conor McGregor is only behind Dan Hooker (75 inches) and Tony Ferguson (76 inches). Conor is yet to fight either of the two.
At 70 inches, both Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov are 4 inches short, while Dustin Poirier has a 2 inch disadvantage.
Conor McGregor's reach has historically helped him sleep several opponents with his killer pull-back left-hand hook, which is inarguably one of the deadliest weapons in UFC.
Conor McGregor - Other vital statistics
Conor McGregor shares similar chest, waist, and biceps sizes with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Both the Lightweights have 32 inch waist and 15-16 inch biceps. McGregor's chest size measures in at 42 inches, while Nurmagomedov's is 40 inches approximately.
Tony Ferguson too shares similar statistics, except for the chest size, which is 38 inches.
Conor McGregor will face Dustin Poirier one year after his last outing in January, 2020, where he defeated Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. That bout happened at Welterweight, and Conor McGregor probably looked the best in his career at that UFC 246 weigh-in.