Conor McGregor reflects on 9th anniversary of his historic UFC feat: "The day I unified UFC gold"

Conor McGregor has reflected on the ninth anniversary of his historic win over Jose Aldo, which saw him win the featherweight title in dominant fashion at UFC 194.

McGregor is without doubt the biggest star in combat sports and his rise to the top has often been credited with helping the UFC reach the heights it has today. While the Irishman has gone on to shatter multiple pay-per-view records and make hundreds of millions of dollars, many people consider his knockout win over Jose Aldo to be the catalyst of all that was to come.

The Dublin native earned his shot against Aldo by defeating Chad Mendes for the interim belt. The pair then faced-off in the main event on Dec. 12, in what was expected to be a highly entertaining back-and-forth contest.

McGregor, however, had other ideas and he stunned the world when he knocked out Aldo in just 13 seconds, taking the unified title and handing the Brazilian his first loss in over 10 years.

Nine years on from the historic moment, Conor McGregor took to X to reflect on his win. He tweeted:

"Happy Conor McGregor day folks! The Twelfth of the Twelfth, 12/12, the day I unified UFC gold for my Ireland in record breaking fashion. 12 second KO! Sláinte🍀"

Despite the momentus win, however, McGregor does still have one issue about the result. The official ruling for the fight was that the knockout occured in 13 seconds, but the Irishman is adamant it was 12. He went on to respond another video, stating:

"It was 12 seconds."

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Ian Machado Garry backs Conor McGregor's return to the octagon

Ian Machado Garry recently backed fellow countryman Conor McGregor to make his highly anticipated return to the octagon, despite the recent legal issues he has faced.

In the last month, 'The Notorious' was recently found liable for an assault that took place back in 2018. The victim, Nikita Hand, asserted that McGegor forced himself on her despite McGregor claiming their encounter was entirely consensual. He was then ordered by the court to pay damages amounting to $250,000, however, he has continued to maintain his innocence and promised to appeal the decision.

Due to the court proceedings, Conor McGregor's fighting future remains up in the air, but should he decide to make a comeback to the octagon, Garry believes it will be a success. Speaking in a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, 'The Future' said:

''If he wants to fight again, that’s his decision. I think everyone in the MMA world is always going to be interested in that, just in regards to the excitement, the superstar he has been in the sport." [H/t Fox Sports]