Conor McGregor's biggest fights in UFC

Conor McGregor (Images: Twitter and Youtube)

Bengaluru, October 5: Conor McGregor is all set to make his much-anticipated Octagon return this weekend in a blockbuster fight against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (October 6).

The Irishman hasn't fought in the UFC since he won the lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez in 2016 and is fighting Khabib for the title which he was forced to vacate earlier this year for not willing to compete.

Khabib remains undefeated, but he faces his most tough test against former champion McGregor, who was last in any kind of action in a big money fight against boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr in the squared circle a year ago.

From knock outs to bruising battles, we take a look at Conor McGregor's wins in the UFC ahead of what is believed to be the biggest fight in the promotion's history,

Decision win vs Max Holloway (UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen - August 2013)

McGregor earned a unanimous decision win over Holloway, who was then a prospect with seven wins and two losses, but has since established himself among the company's finest featherweight fighters with 12 successive wins.

The bout happened in featherweight division where McGregor, who was a little more than three months on from his UFC debut. The pair took the fight the distance, which was the first time for the Notorious in his 16th MMA fight and in the end he took the decision win with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-26.

Most notable thing about the victory was, the Irishman ended up tearing his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and spent ten months on the sidelines after the surgery.

TKO vs Chad Mendes (UFC 189 - July 2015)

McGregor made it four technical knockouts (TKO) in a row with the win over Mendes to claim UFC Featherweight Interim title.

McGregor earned himself featherweight title shot with back-to-back TKOs of Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver. But a bout against champion Jose Aldo didn't happen as the Brazilian pulled out due to rib injury. Hence, McGregor took on late replacement and number one contender Mendes for the interim belt.

After a bruising battle, McGregor floored Mendes with a jab-cross combo and caught him with several more strikes on the ground before the referee stepped in to stop the fight with three seconds left in the second frame.

KO vs Jose Aldo (UFC 194 - December 2015)

This was one of McGregor's quickest finishes, the Irishman stopped Jose Aldo just thirteen seconds into the fight to win the UFC Featherweight Championship. McGregor defeated a champion, who boasted a 10-year unbeaten run and in doing so also snapped his 18-fight win streak.

The Notorious sealed the deal with a picture perfect left cross to knock out the Brazilian, who hit the floor to signal an emphatic conclusion to a rivalry that had been going on for months. After that win, the Irishman moved to the Welterweight division.

Majority decision vs Nate Diaz (UFC 202 - August 2016)

The two were involved in a very intense feud and ended up meeting twice in the space of five months with Diaz winning the first bout via submission. McGregor later avenged his shock first defeat in the UFC by earning a majority decision.

McGregor, as he did in the first bout, started the rematch strongly and floored his rival three times inside the opening two rounds. The resilient Diaz, though, absorbed the punishment and took advantage of his opponent's fatigue to finish the fight on top, only to lose a majority decision. He next moved on to lightweight division.

TKO vs Eddie Alvarez (UFC 205 - November 2016)

Three months on from defeating Nate Diaz in a rematch, McGregor earned a historic win by knocking out UFC Lightweight champion Alvarez to become a double champion. The Irishman joined the likes of all-time greats Randy Couture and BJ Penn in winning UFC titles across two weight classes and became the first to hold two belts at the same time.

Like others before him, Alvarez, failed to withstand the power of his foe and was knocked down three times in the opening round before being stopped three minutes into the second. That was his last UFC fight for almost two years.