5 times that Conor McGregor delivered under immense pressure

#2 Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez – UFC 205

Conor McGregor rose to the occasion once again at UFC 205, dropping Eddie Alvarez five times en route to a TKO win

When Conor McGregor was handed a shot at the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205, he was largely favored to defeat champion Eddie Alvarez. However, the fight didn’t come without a ton of pressure.

Firstly, the Irishman was coming off two of the least convincing performances of his UFC career, including his first octagon loss at the hands of Nate Diaz.

Secondly, this was his chance to make history by becoming the first fighter to simultaneously hold UFC titles in two different weight classes.

And thirdly, UFC 205 was set to be the UFC’s first-ever event in the state of New York, in the famed Madison Square Garden, with the eyes of the world watching. So could McGregor handle that kind of pressure?

Of course he could. If anything, it was the more experienced Alvarez who looked nervy under the big lights. When it came to the fight, he simply couldn’t touch ‘The Notorious’.

WHAT A PERFORMANCE 🏆🏆We rewind to #UFC205 when @TheNotoriousMMA became the double champ! pic.twitter.com/WH1RCsiFuy

— UFC (@ufc) September 13, 2018

Alvarez was knocked down no fewer than five times before the fight was mercifully stopped in the second round, giving McGregor his second UFC title. Once again, he’d proven that when the pressure was on, nobody in the UFC could perform to quite the same standard.

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#1 Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo – UFC 194

Conor McGregor shrugged off all the pressure to knock out Jose Aldo at UFC 194

Arguably the most pressure that Conor McGregor came under during his UFC tenure was in his first ever UFC title fight, against reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194.

Sure, ‘The Notorious’ had defeated every man put in front of him to that point – including a former title challenger in the form of Chad Mendes – but he’d also piled the pressure on himself by talking an insane amount of trash.

More to the point, Aldo hadn’t been beaten in over a decade, had defended his title on seven occasions in the UFC, and generally looked unstoppable.

Essentially, he was a champion who’d seen everything inside the octagon, and he was confident that he’d be able to teach his brash challenger a lesson in respect.

But by the time the fight came around, the contrast between the two men was clear. Despite the pressure, McGregor looked loose and relaxed, while Aldo looked nervous and potentially psyched out.

Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on December 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV. #DWCOTD pic.twitter.com/1h4KEjafRs

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 4, 2016

Incredibly, the fight lasted just 13 seconds. Evidently, it was Aldo who was feeling the pressure. He stepped in to attempt a strike a little too openly – and Conor McGregor countered with a left, knocking him senseless and stealing his title in the process.

Despite ‘The Notorious’ achieving more glory after this fight, the win over Aldo remains probably his greatest achievement in the UFC – and it was firm evidence that he could deliver under the greatest pressure.