UFC 189: Road to the title shot - Conor McGregor
Conor Mcgregor has put Ireland on the map of MMA communityMcGregor is still relatively new to the UFC, yet is at the top level of the sport already. His meteoric rise is unparalleled in the sport's history, having stopped four out of five opponents since his debut with UFC in 2013, he has been demanding a shot at the belt from the very beginning. Conor's seemingly unstoppable momentum, as well as his extreme extroversion, has made him the biggest talking point in the sport since Brock Lesnar was signed to compete. He is the perfect storm, just what the UFC and featherweight division needed to shake things up.Also unparalleled is his ability to market himself, and get under the skin of his opponents at the same time. McGregor has that star power, he is confident and brash, he has a reputation for being disrespectful and dismissive of his opponent, causing them to become very emotional and angry. Whether this is all part of a carefully constructed game plan to push his foes' buttons and throw them off their game, or just Conor being himself, only he really knows. But its effectiveness speaks for itself, as we see by the UFC’s investment in him as UFC 189 clearly is Conor McGregor show all along.Yes everyone is disappointed that Jose Aldo has dropped out of the fight due to a rib injury against Mcgregor but we are getting a fantastic replacement bout with Chad Mendes stepping in for Aldo for the interim title. This also presents a wonderful opportunity for McGregor to finally silence his critics by facing a wrestler like Mendes. And we all know if he succeeds, the title unification bout with Jose Aldo will be a massive deal. But before we go that far, let’s recap the UFC journey of Conor Mcgregor.
#1 Conor Mcgregor vs Marcus Brimage
This is where it all began for those in the UFC who were unfamiliar with “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. In his debut he faced featherweight Marcus Brimage. After some heated exchange during weigh-ins Brimage was out there to prove a point that the hype behind McGregor is nothing more than hype. There was no touch of gloves as Brimage comes straight at McGregor, swinging overhand punches and lands a nice left hook. Nice right hand connects for Brimage but McGregor breaks up the momentum with a hard uppercut.
McGregor showed reat hand speed as he blasted Brimage again with another pair of uppercuts which had Brimage hitting the deck and McGregor followed up with heavy shots on the ground until referee Robert Sundel intervened. Conor McGregor needed just 67 seconds to win his UFC debut in impressive fashion and prove the hype behind him is real. This was the prologue to what would go on to be one of the fastest rises through the ranks of the Ultimate fighting Championships.