Top 5 Conor McGregor Rivalries

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#2. McGregor vs. Nate Diaz

UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor 2 - Weigh-in

Another of Conor McGregor’s biggest rivalries was with former TUF winner Nate Diaz. The rivalry began when Diaz called out McGregor following his win over Michael Johnson in 2015. Diaz got his wish at UFC 196, when then-UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from his bout with McGregor.

After Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar declined the opportunity to step in, Diaz accepted the fight on short notice.

The fight was contested at welterweight and saw Diaz submit then-UFC featherweight champion McGregor in the second round. McGregor was adamant about getting a rematch with Diaz and a full training camp, and that’s exactly what happened. The UFC booked their rematch for UFC 202 and it was once again contested at 170lbs.

The press conferences got heated at times, but they helped sell the fight in a big way. At the time, UFC 202 became the highest grossing UFC pay-per-view with 1.65 million pay-per-view buys. The rematch lived up to the hype and ended with McGregor avenging his loss by majority decision. The two have continued to be linked with a trilogy bout, but nothing has come to fruition as of now.

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#1. McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC 229: Khabib Nurmagomedov v Conor McGregor

The former UFC lightweight champions were involved in a heated rivalry for years. The infamous bus incident during UFC 223 fight week only made matters worse between the two. They traded insults on social media and they finally got their chance to fight at UFC 229.

The undefeated Nurmagomedov looked to legitimize his reign by defeating McGregor, who was stripped of the title. In the leadup, it was clear that 'The Eagle' had an advantage in wrestling and grappling, and McGregor’s advantage was striking. McGregor did well defending takedowns early on in the fight. However, Nurmagomedov ended up securing a takedown and did plenty of damage.

One would think the two would shake hands after 'The Eagle' submitted 'The Notorious' in the fourth-round. Instead, that wasn’t the case as the champion flew over the cage and attacked McGregor’s team. A brawl then ensued, which resulted in both Nurmagomdov and McGregor receiving suspensions.

Regardless of what took place post-fight, UFC 229 is still the highest grossing UFC pay-per-view in the promotion’s history. UFC 229 generated 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and is the reason UFC President Dana White tried to book a rematch multiple times.

However, in 2020, Nurmagomedov retired from the sport after defending his title against Justin Gaethje and put talk of a rematch to rest.