10 Conor McGregor "What Ifs"

Almost immediately after Conor McGregor’s accolade of the double champion was official, he was demoted back down to a single champion with the UFC stripping him of the featherweight title to allow the division to get back on track.

In 2017, fighting looked far from the mind of the Irishman apart from regular tauntings on social media to boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. Then, the unthinkable happened on 14 June 2017, when the biggest combat sports match of all time was announced: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor.

The two embarked on a world tour to promote the match covering four cities across three countries in just four days. The war of words between the two most-famed talkers in combat sports provided more content than any media outlet could ever use, and it wasn’t short of controversy. There were appearances from rapper Drake, supporting Conor McGregor, on stage brawls between the teams and insults in abundance.

McGregor started the match extremely well and seemed to best Mayweather in the opening rounds before the wily veteran used everything in his arsenal to dispatch of McGregor in the tenth round. Despite the result, both the boxing and MMA communities stood in agreement that McGregor’s display was extremely impressive against someone who is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. McGregor shunned the praise and instead vowed to defeat Mayweather in a rematch one day.

Neither fighter could be considered a loser after the fight, with both earning over $100m each for the famed bout. This figure is extremely important as it’s likely the main factor that allowed McGregor to distance himself from the UFC, retiring multiple times before being tempted back for another bout with a Russian grappler that brought out the worst in both men.