Conor McGregor outgrew the world of combat sports and became immortal. How did he change MMA forever and what makes him so special?

Conor McGregor. A name that a large part of the world’s population knows. You may not like him, you may not be into combat sports, but you still can’t question his uniqueness. The Dublin native has become an immortal legend. How did he change the world of MMA forever and what makes him so special?

From plumber to world star

Conor McGregor is a global star today, but he had to earn his fame. When he was a kid, there was little indication that the Irishman would become the man who would make the MMA world famous.

He went to Irish-language schools, played football, and took up boxing at the age of 12 because of bullying and self-defense. He trained as a plumber in high school. And it was during his high school years that he met the man who changed his world – Tom Egan, who also competed in a UFC tournament.

It was with Egan that McGregor began training MMA. In February 2008, he scored his first amateur fight as an 18-year-old. He won it in the first round by TKO and then only professional starts followed.

He lost twice in his first six fights, but fought his way into the famous Cage Warriors organization, where he became a champion in two weight classes. In his last fight before going to the UFC, he knocked out the legendary Ivan Buchinger in the first round.

It was 2013 when McGregor became only the second Irishman to make it to the UFC. And that was just the beginning. In fact, Conor quickly began to rewrite the history of all of MMA.

How did he change the world of MMA?

Staredowns, press conferences… It was all rather unattractive until Conor McGregor came on the scene. The Irishman changed the entire world of MMA in that regard. He began to use these moments to his advantage. He waged psychological warfare during them and started the era of the trash talk.

Nowadays, nobody is surprised when fighters fight each other, insult each other, call each other names. But before McGregor came along, that was certainly not the order of the day. The fact is that the Irishman often went really over the edge.

But few could blame him. He attracted attention, and with it, money. He quickly became the most watched fighter on the planet, and if we were looking for a list of the UFC’s best-selling galas, know that McGregor as the headliner dominates them.

But that’s not all the Irishman has established among the new order. It hasn’t been too common for too many fighters to try and hold titles in multiple weight classes at the same time. But McGregor had made it in Cage Warriors, and he wanted to accomplish the same goal in the UFC. And he did. He became the first ever to do so in the famous organization.

Since then, it’s been more or less uncommon. At the very least, making these attempts is not at all unusual. On the contrary.

To make matters worse, with McGregor came the so-called “moneyfights”. Fights with the Irishman were guaranteed to make money. But he also wanted to make money, and so he challenged men he thought were adequate.

That man was Floyd Mayweather, the legendary boxer. And the effort to make money was successful. Over 4.3 million people paid to watch the fight and in total, over $500 million was made. Only one fight in combat sports history has been bigger in that regard. Specifically, it was Mayweather’s iconic duel with Manny Pacquiao.

The end of McGregor will be a loss for the MMA world

Previously, it wasn’t exactly customary for organization owners to somehow coddle specific fighters. But Conor McGregor has changed that. How much the UFC makes simply gives him privileges. He gets almost anything he asks for.

The Irish star has outgrown the world of MMA. So it’s no wonder the UFC doesn’t wish for his demise. He will be a loss to the entire combat sports industry. For now, there’s no one on the horizon who can impress as much as the Irishman.

Source: UFC, YouTube, Twitter, Sportskeeda, Daily Mail, Sky Sports, ESPN