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Conor McGregor will try to overcome what could possibly be the biggest setback of his career when he goes face-to-face with Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264. The highly-anticipated trilogy fight between 'The Notorious' and 'The Diamond' will take place on Saturday, July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This isn't the first time, however, that McGregor has faced major difficulties inside and outside the octagon. In fact, the Irish mega-star has made a career out of proving there aren't odds too steep to shatter and obstacles too difficult to overcome.
In a few days, McGregor will have the opportunity to put his undying resilience on display once again. Ahead of McGregor's much-awaited return to the octagon, let's take a look at five times the Irishman got back to his feet after suffering proverbial knockdowns.
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#5 Conor McGregor gets denied entry into the UFC
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Conor McGregor overcame adversity the moment he stepped foot inside the octagon. Today, McGregor is undeniably the biggest star in the company. But back in 2012, he was just another fighter in the minor leagues trying to make it into the world's largest MMA promotion.
Nine years ago, McGregor's former manager, Halli Nelson, made a big push to try and get 'The Notorious' Irishman into the UFC. At the time, Nelson had his son, Gunnar, signed to a UFC contract and was planning to do the same for McGregor.
However, a leaked email exchange between Nelson and UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby revealed that the promotion almost missed out on the signing of a lifetime. Believing that the UFC featherweight division was too crowded, Shelby told Nelson that he wasn't looking to recruit new talent and passed on McGregor.
But McGregor continued to dominate the underground MMA scene. He finally caught the UFC's attention when he knocked out Ivan Buchinger at Cage Warriors 51. And just like that, the UFC finally brought the Irishman in a few months after initially turning him away. The rest, of course, is history.
#4 Conor McGregor bounces back from his rock bottom
Conor McGregor has had multiple run-ins with the law. Living up to his monicker, 'The Notorious' was first arrested following a stunt he pulled in 2018, when he and a bunch of his teammates invaded a UFC press event to send a message to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Since then, he has been arrested twice more after getting into an altercation in Miami in 2019 and being accused of sexual assault in 2020.
When McGregor returned to action after his first arrest at UFC 229, he had the opportunity to leave his dark past behind by recapturing the lightweight title. Instead, he lost to Nurmagomedov in embarrassing fashion, tapping out in round four after getting dominated the entire fight.
Then again, McGregor has proven over and over that he only needs one victory to get himself out of any PR turmoil. So that's exactly what he did at UFC 246 when he finished Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.
Just like Andy Dufresne in the 1994 classic The Shawshank Redemption, Conor McGregor crawled through a river of s*** and came out clean on the other side.
#3 Conor McGregor avenged his loss to Nate Diaz
Conor McGregor became the first-ever UFC dual-champion after defeating then-lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez at UFC. His coronation could've come sooner, but fate – and Nate Diaz – had other plans.
Instead of fighting for a second title, UFC featherweight champion McGregor found himself standing opposite the younger Diaz brother at UFC 196. Though Diaz came in as a short-notice replacement for Rafael dos Anjos, he proved too big and sturdy for the Dublin native.
Diaz handed McGregor his first defeat in the octagon after choking out the Irishman in the second round. Superstars like Anderson Silva and Ronda Rousey never recovered after suffering confidence-shattering defeats. But not McGregor.
'The Notorious' came back stronger than ever three months later and avenged his loss to Diaz. Another three months later, McGregor made a quick turnaround against Eddie Alvarez to finally capture his second UFC title.
#2 Conor McGregor captures the interim title against Chad Mendes
![Conor McGregor vs Chad Mendes [Photo credit: @FocusedConor on Twitter]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/07/5aad6-16254882989470-800.jpg)
Conor McGregor rapidly rose to prominence after running roughshod through the UFC's featherweight division. The Irishman amassed a 5-0 record in the promotion, beating the likes of Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier and Dennis Silver along the way.
He finally earned a championship date against then-champion Jose Aldo at UFC 189 in 2015. Unfortunately, the Brazilian icon suffered a rib injury and was subsequently forced to withdraw from the fight.
Chad Mendes stepped in on short notice to face McGregor for the interim UFC featherweight belt. Many believed Mendes, an esteemed wrestler, was a matchup nightmare for the surging featherweight star. But McGregor came prepared.
McGregor kept Mendes at bay with a variety of kicks and consistently found a home for his signature left hand. He finally put the Team Alpha Male fighter away via TKO in round two to capture the interim title. Five months later, he would become the undisputed champ at 145 by knocking out Aldo in 13 seconds.
#1 From the streets of Crumlin to the top of Forbes' list
Conor McGregor is among the wealthiest athletes today. The Irishman recently landed at the top of Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes in 2021, beating out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and LeBron James.
But McGregor hasn't always enjoyed a lofty and luxurious lifestyle. He was once on the dole as a hard-up prizefighter collecting social security checks to keep himself afloat before he hit the UFC:
“When things were really bad I didn’t have a pot to piss in. Really, nothing," McGregor told Joe.co.uk.
Right now, McGregor's global net worth has been estimated to be in excess of $400 million.
