Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Whether you care for the man or not, there’s no denying that former UFC champion Conor McGregor has had one of the most illustrious and storied careers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
In just of a matter of a few years the Irish superstar went from fighting on the undercard of UFC on Fuel TV 9 to record-breaking PPV title fights and million dollar paydays. Not to mention an oddly entertaining boxing match with the great Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Needless to say, “Notorious” is simply in a league of his own. McGregor may not be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, but he’s certainly the most polarizing and exciting to watch. But what makes the Irishman even more captivating is the fact that he was creating magical moments inside of the cage way before he ever stepped foot inside of the Octagon.
Prior to his Cage Warriors takeover from 2011-2012 in which he captured both the featherweight and lightweight titles, McGregor was seen competing on the open MMA circuit. McGregor quickly made a name for himself as one of the best up-and-coming prospects Ireland had to offer before meeting Paddy Doherty at Immortal Fighting Championship 4 in April 2011. That is where “Notorious” claimed his fastest career stoppage to date, finishing Doherty just four seconds into the first round with his patented left hand.
The entire fight can be seen below, in addition to McGregor discussing the bout and his incredible finish.
Up Letterkenny!
Host to the second fastest knockout in mixed martial arts history.
3.5 seconds.
The Step back bang left hook™? https://t.co/ZnAgtcbWOs— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 16, 2020
“Up Letterkenny! Host to the second fastest knockout in mixed martial arts history. 3.5 seconds. The Step back bang left hook,” wrote McGregor.
McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh, also chimed in on the quick finish, stating that the entire team traveled eight hours round trip for just a few seconds of action.
This was an 8hr roundtrip for less than 4 seconds
There was zero money involved those days so I actually did want to see some fighting ??? https://t.co/iZev1c1QuC— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) April 16, 2020
“This was an 8hr roundtrip for less than 4 seconds. There was zero money involved those days so I actually did want to see some fighting,“ wrote Kavanagh via Twitter.
Little did fight fans know that this same left-hand dominance by McGregor would carry over into UFC and produce one of the most storied combat careers of all time. This includes McGregor’s 13-second knockout stoppage over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 to claim the undisputed featherweight title, which remains his fastest finish in UFC competition.