Conor McGregor’s journey to superstardom really began when the UFC allowed him to headline in his hometown.
In July 2014, MMA’s premier promotion returned to the Irish capital for the first time in five years after ‘Notorious’ made a splash early in his career with the company.
Three fights into his UFC career, McGregor headlined in his hometownCredit: Getty
Naturally, he featured in the main event, and tickets were quickly snapped up by fans eager to watch elite-level MMA at Dublin’s 3Arena – formerly known as The O2 Arena.
McGregor did not disappoint his compatriots as he delivered a first-round knockout.
The featherweight prospect edged closer to top competition by running through exciting veteran Diego Brandao inside five minutes.
‘Mystic Mac’ opened up with a spinning kick before getting into a brawl with the Brazilian as a massive “Ole!” football-style chant echoed around the arena.
McGregor showed off some of his often-criticized grappling skills, which recently earned him a BJJ Black Belt, as he landed ground-and-pound from top position.
Brandao got back to his feet but already looked spent and the future dual-weight champion could sense it as he went hunting for a quick finish.
McGregor threw a flurry of punches, elbows, and kicks as he chased his third UFC opponent around the Octagon before landing a spectacular shot.
The now-35-year-old cracked Brandao with a spinning back kick that dropped him to one knee and signalled the beginning of the end of UFC Dublin’s main event.
Despite trying to fight fire with fire, Brandao found himself trapped against the fence before eating a big left-hand shot that finally floored him.
A few follow-up strikes were all referee Leon Roberts needed to see to wave off the fight and trigger wild celebrations from the Irish crowd.
McGregor was simply too good and stopped the Brazilian inside one roundCredit: Getty
The proud Irishman hasn’t fought at home sinceCredit: Getty
10 years later, the atmosphere at UFC Dublin is still unmatched.
However, Dana White has never brought his MMA league back to Ireland – even though McGregor is his biggest star and often talks about his desire to fight at Dublin’s 80,000-seater stadium, Croke Park.
Undefeated Irish welterweight contender Ian Garry has promised to bring the UFC back to Ireland, but it’s currently unclear when that will happen.
White is currently flirting with the idea of another card in Dublin.
“Dublin is always on my mind,” he said during the UFC 304 post-fight press conference.
“You know, that’s why we were going to do that [Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler] press conference over there. I really wanted to do that.
“The answer is yes, we definitely will get back to Dublin, it’s just a matter of when .”
Unless it’s a stadium show, McGregor won’t be fighting at home again.
The 36-year-old has been sidelined since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
A comeback bout against Michael Chandler was supposed to take place at UFC 303 last month, but McGregor withdrew after breaking his pinky toe in training.
UFC 310 on December 14 is rumoured to be when McGregor will finally return to action.
White hasn’t confirmed it yet, but it seems very likely that his biggest star will fight again before 2024 is out, while 2025 may see a long-awaited return to Dublin.