On this day 10 years ago, Conor McGregor held UFC gold for the first time in his career.
McGregor might be a divisive character among the fans these days but his climb to the top of the sport was simply unmatched.
‘The Notorious’ is currently teasing a UFC return, with Dana White recently speaking about McGregor fighting at the White House in 2026, but his accomplishments inside the Octagon will always stand the test of time.
UFC 189 was set to be one of the biggest events in UFC history as the sport’s newest superstar faced a dominant champion in Jose Aldo.
Aldo withdrew from the fight several weeks out but that didn’t stop a supremely confident McGregor from going out there and making a statement against a replacement opponent.
Dana White turned down Conor McGregor’s $3 million bet for a second-round KO at UFC 189
Conor McGregor could have easily made the decision to not fight at UFC 189 in order to wait for his shot at the featherweight champion.
The Irishman had spent time promoting his fight with Jose Aldo around the world only for the Brazilian champion to withdraw due to a rib fracture.
Instead, McGregor once again showed his remarkable self-belief by calling for the UFC to find him a new opponent that he could fight for the interim title.
The new main event saw ‘The Notorious’ face off with Chad Mendes, who, as an American wrestler with power in his hands, would seemingly be a difficult style matchup on short notice.
Clearly, McGregor wasn’t fazed in the slightest as Dana White revealed on The Jim Rome Show that ‘Mystic Mac’ was prepared to put his money where his mouth is when predicting that he would put Mendes away in the second.
“You want to know how confident this kid is? I can’t even believe I’m going to say this, but, he told Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I the other day ‘I’ll bet you $3 million I knock him out in the second round.’
“I like to bet, I don’t know if I’m that willing to take that bet,” White added. “When I tell you how extremely confident this guy is in himself, it’s fascinating.”
The UFC CEO’s decision to not call McGregor’s bluff ended up being a wise one as the main event of UFC 189 ended in the superstar winning the interim belt with just three seconds left of the second round.
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Conor McGregor disputed Dana White’s claim of a $3 million bet ahead of UFC 189
During fight week for UFC 189, Conor McGregor was asked about Dana White’s comments on The Jim Rome Show about his proposed bet.
‘The Notorious’ stated that while he did make an offer to the UFC CEO, the bet was for $3.5 million.
McGregor said that he had pitched the “friendly wager” to White via email during their negotiations but he wasn’t taken up on his offer.
“I’m still hoping it goes ahead,” McGregor said during fight week, as reported by MMA Fighting. “I feel it’s a good bet. It could go either way, so I believe he should take it. It’s to do with this pay-per-view stipulation, so it’s not as black and white as it seems, but I hope he takes it.
“I just heard that he spoke about it on the radio, so everyone else knows, because I didn’t tell anybody. It was behind closed doors. I don’t discuss business. He does, so I hope that means he is taking it.”