5 times Conor McGregor showed the world how to take a setback on the chin

#2 Conor McGregor captures the interim title against Chad Mendes

Conor McGregor vs Chad Mendes [Photo credit: @FocusedConor on Twitter]

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.

An iconic performance on an iconic card 🙌Five years ago today, just three months after tearing his ACL, @TheNotoriousMMA knocked out Chad Mendes to become the UFC interim champion 🏆🇮🇪 #UFC189 pic.twitter.com/4s6rtopgMH

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) July 11, 2020

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

UFC 229: Conor McGregor

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.

Conor McGregor is named the Forbes number 1 highest paid athlete for 2021. https://t.co/IJxkfSUhHH pic.twitter.com/fS4yXD3hub

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 12, 2021

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.