5 times Conor McGregor successfully got under the skin of his opponents by playing mind games

#4 UFC 205: Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez

UFC 205 was a historic event, marking the promotion's return to New York City after a long ban. Conor McGregor faced Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC 205.

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

— UFC (@ufc) September 13, 2018

The hype around the event also led to the shattering of the live gate record at Madison Square Garden, where it was held. Adding to the hype, McGregor and Alvarez went-back and forth in a memorable presser before the Irishman plucked the lightweight strap from Alvarez's table.

However, few can get the better of Conor McGregor when it comes to trading insults and verbal jabs. As the duo continued their war of words on ESPN’s SportCenter the Dubliner emerged as the clear winner. Ripping into Alvarez, McGregor said:

"You've been over in Japan or some shit. You've been fighting bums all your life. You've never been on this stage. You've never been against a guy like me, you're an absolute bum . You're a shitehawk. You get dropped in every fight. Look at your face. You're the most beat up guy there is."

Now a fabled trash talker in the promotion, Conor McGregor became the first double champ in UFC history with a second-round TKO victory over Eddie Alvarez.

#3 UFC Fight Night: Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver

Conor McGregor unleashed some brutal trash talk in the lead up to his fight against Dennis Siver in 2015. Conor's witticism had several fighters giggling at the pre-fight press conference.

Conor McGregor produces comedy gold with Dennis Siver trash-talkhttp://t.co/LxXvOIWY6G pic.twitter.com/LXh6vov1F2

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 20, 2014

Taking a dig at his opponent's smaller stature, Conor McGregor said:

"It makes it all that much sweeter. Especially when I'm going in against a 5-foot-5 overblown German that's too small, too slow and too stocky. It makes all the sense. I like to bully these little people."

McGregor then went on to take a dig at Siver's USADA suspension and also blamed steroid abuse for his opponent's weird appearance. Apart from a second round TKO victory for Conor McGregor, the impact of his trash talk was also proven by his opponent. The German featherweight condemned McGregor's trash talk in a later interview and labeled it inappropriate.