5 fighters who successfully stole the show on a Conor McGregor fight card

#4. Khabib Nurmagomedov - UFC 229

For better or worse, Khabib Nurmagomedov stole the show at UFC 229 when he locked horns with the most heated rival of his career: Conor McGregor. The buildup to their fight was especially contentious, with even UFC President Dana White claiming that the first UFC 229 pre-fight press conference was the darkest media event he'd ever taken part in.

Much was said by Conor McGregor, as the Irishman hurled insults at the undefeated Russian, targeting his family, religion, and everything else under the sun.

When both fighters finally stepped inside the octagon, it was a fairly one-sided bout that saw Khabib Nurmagomedov dominate Conor McGregor in the most successful PPV in UFC history. After forcing 'The Notorious' to tap out to a neck crank, Nurmagomedov scaled the cage and leapt into the first row seats, attacking Dillon Danis and the rest of McGregor's team. At the same time, Nurmagomedov's own team entered the cage to attack the Irishman.

It was a shocking turn of events that firmly diverted all attention from Conor McGregor to Nurmagomedov himself. All anyone cared about afterwards was whether 'The Eagle' would be punished or stripped of his lightweight title, while memes of his attack dominated the internet for several years.

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#3. Michael Chandler - UFC 257

At UFC 257, many fans had written off the main event as a forgone conclusion. Most observers expected Conor McGregor to repeat the success he'd had against Dustin Poirier when they first crossed paths.

What many fans failed to take into account, however, was Poirier's evolution as a fighter. His adoption of calf kicks, the Philly Shell, and a competent counter-punching style stunned fans when he made his foe pay with check hooks and calf kicks en route to giving McGregor the first TKO/KO loss of his MMA career.

While the Irishman wallowed in defeat, Michael Chandler basked in the glory of victory. The former Bellator world champion was making his UFC debut, so fans wondered how well he'd do in the world's top MMA promotion.

Chandler put the lightweight division on notice by becoming the first man to knock Dan Hooker unconscious, something that even the power-punching Dustin Poirier failed to do. After his win, Chandler cut a memorable promo in his post-fight interview, calling out the entire lightweight division and earning himself a title fight against Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight championship.