Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor (previously at Neatorama) is the current UFC featherweight champion, after defeating the #1 pound-for-pound UFC champion José Aldo in just 13 seconds. McGregor instantly became the talk of the fight world, and is poised to be the next superstar. Maybe you should learn a little about the man.
10. He held two different belts in the same year
Before Conor signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2013, he was fighting in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Now typically most fighters stay within one weight division, but most fighters are not Conor McGregor. At CWFC 47, Conor defeated opponent Dave Hill and won the featherweight belt. Then in his next fight he gained weight, and secured the CWFC lightweight belt. So in one year, Conor held two belts for two different weight divisions.
3. He was on welfare before entering the UFC
Conor’s life wasn’t always filled with sold-out fights or driving in fast cars. According to McGregor himself, he was actually collecting welfare checks from Ireland before he made his UFC debut. He secured his first UFC win in Sweden against Marcus Brimage, and after the fight he told reporters: “I didn’t have money before this, you know. Like I said, I was collecting 180 Euros a week off the social welfare and here I am and I’ve got 60 G’s bonus and my own pay”.
Taken together, those things show that fighting for the Cage Warriors doesn’t pay well. But there’s a lot more you can learn about Conor McGregor in a list at Worthly.