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On this day in 2014, Conor McGregor brought the UFC to his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. In only his third fight in the octagon, Conor McGregor headlined UFC Dublin in front of a crowd packed to the rafters at the O2 Arena. The atmosphere that night was electric and unlike anything ever seen before in the fight game.
The night is fondly remembered by many as the night when the 'new era of fighting Irish' was introduced to the world. It was a night when the UFC's biggest star truly announced himself on the big stage. The UFC Dublin card featured some of the biggest names in Irish MMA and was headlined by the most popular among them.
Conor McGregor faced Diego Brandao in the much-anticipated main event of the night, but it didn't matter who he was facing. The event, the night, and the crowd in attendance belonged to Conor McGregor and no one else. He owned it from the moment it was announced that the UFC would return to Dublin after five long years.
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The hype surrounding the Irishman was immense as he prepared to headline a UFC event for the first time. He was also making a comeback after recovering from a serious ACL injury that saw him sidelined for a year. But while some buckle under the spotlight, that's when Conor McGregor shines brightest.
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Despite being just two fights old, The Notorious embraced the idea of performing in front of a sold-out crowd. His confidence shone through in his words:
“I’ve visualized this walk since I was a young boy. I’ve visualized this walk out. I’m not going to get overhyped by it. I’m not going to get timid by it. I’m just going to stay perfectly balanced; I’m going to embrace it all. This is the culmination of years of hard work and years of dedication and enjoy it. This is a historic moment for Irish sports, period. Not just for combat sports, but period this is historic. I’m just going to embrace it,” McGregor told MMAjunkie.
In the build-up to the fight, Conor McGregor used his usual tactics of playing mind games to put his opponent on the back foot even before stepping inside the cage. Brandao suffered a knockout loss to Dustin Poirier in his last fight before taking on McGregor. The Irishman claimed he saved Brandao's job by agreeing to fight him in the headliner of UFC Dublin:
“I believe he was probably cut, but he hadn’t been told yet. I just feel that way. You can’t threaten to stab somebody and miss weight and get knocked out in the first round and expect to keep your job. I believe he was just left in limbo in case anything happened, then guess what? Something happened."
In the same MMA Junkie interview, Conor McGregor also predicted how he'd finish Brandao in the fight. He said Brandao would experience a style he's never seen before and promised to "make him crumble". He had promised a first-round KO:
"I believe it’s not a good time to be Diego Brandao right now. People are saying that he starts well and then fades, I don’t think he’s even going to start well. I’m going to be straight at him off the gate and I think he’s going to feel pressure like he never felt before. He’s going to be on his back foot and experience shots and movements that he’s never experienced before until ultimately he crumbles, and he will crumble.”
Soon enough, it was time to go to war. The Irish crowd erupted as Conor McGregor's entrance music started playing. McGregor strutted his way to the octagon in all his glory, soaking in the love of his fellow countrymen and proudly holding the national flag of his beloved motherland.
When the cage doors shut behind him, it took Conor McGregor all of four minutes in the first round to completely decimate Brandao, sending the entire arena into a state of delirium. Brandao had no answer for McGregor's prolific striking. The Irishman kept tagging him from the get-go before knocking him down with a vicious straight left. He followed it up with a couple of ground-and-pound shots to get the win.
Mystic Mac delivered on his promise. He got the first round win he said he would in front of his beloved Irish crowd. UFC analyst Dan Hardy got a hold of an ecstatic McGregor in a post-fight interview. The Irishman delivered an iconic speech which gave goosebumps to MMA fans across the globe:
"I said I was gonna put him away in the first round, I put him away in the first round. You'll have to be something special to come over here in my hometown and take this away from me.There's not a man alive that can come on this soil and beat me...It was a clean sweep for the Irish. I said it last year, we are not here just to take part, we are here to take over," said Conor McGregor.
Conor McGregor scaled dizzying heights following UFC Dublin
Conor McGregor's win turned him into a legitimate title contender overnight. He went on to run through the entire featherweight division, becoming the champ after knocking out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds. The win against Brandao was the beginning of the epic rise of Conor McGregor. He went on to become the first double champ in UFC history.
UFC was never the same after the Dublin event. It was an unforgettable night for all Irish fans as well as 'The Notorious'. Conor McGregor went on to scale unfathomable heights in the business following that night. Seven years after the fight, UFC fans and journalists are commemorating the moment.
Remembering Conor McGregor's legendary feat, some famous personalities recently spoke about his masterclass at UFC Dublin.
