When Conor McGregor got the crowd cheering after nailing jump-shot at New York Knicks' home turf
Conor McGregor headlined one of the biggest-selling pay-per-view events in UFC history when he challenged then-champion Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title at UFC 205. The event took place on Nov. 13, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which also serves as the home of the New York Knicks.
The event, which returned to the state of New York for the first time since 1995, drew 1.3 million PPV buys, propelling McGregor to stardom.
Notably, ahead of their showdown, all eyes were on McGregor as he took over the court at Madison Square Garden and made the basket, prompting cheers from everyone present in the arena.
Check out the video below:
McGregor entered the title fight as the featherweight champion and completely dominated Alvarez with his sharp strikes. In the third minute of the second round, 'The Notorious' floored his opponent with a slick combination, prompting veteran MMA referee John McCarthy to end the fight.
As a result, McGregor became the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two divisions at the same time.
After a two-year layoff, McGregor made his octagon return in a lightweight title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018, which ended in a fourth-round submission defeat for him. The 36-year-old is 1-3 in his last four MMA appearances, the most recent being a trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021, where he broke his leg in the opening round.
Upon recovery, McGregor was set to face Michael Chandler in a welterweight matchup at UFC 303 last year, but a toe injury derailed his comeback plans. Fans are still waiting for the official announcement of his comeback, but there hasn't been any.
MMA coach opens up about infamous Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor matchup
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov shared one of the fiercest rivalries in the promotion, resulting in McGregor's fourth-round submission loss at UFC 229. Notably, many thought that the Irishman's tap angered Nurmagomedov as he wanted to punish him even more. However, that wasn't the case.
In a recent episode of the Javier & Mo Show, Nurmagomedov's coach, Javier Mendez, disclosed that the Dagestani fighter feared McGregor's jaw would break if the latter didn't give up, saying:
''People have asked me on that choke that [Khabib] had on him where Conor tapped... I said, 'Khabib, I've been telling people that interview me, I've been saying that you didn't want him to tap. You wanted to keep punishing him.' And I go, 'Am I right?' And he goes, 'No coach, you were wrong.' He goes, 'I wanted him to tap. Earlier on [in the fight], no, I wanted to punish him. But at the very end, I wanted him to tap. If he didn't tap, his jaw was gonna get broken.'"
Check out Javier Mendez's comments below (25:05):