Seven times ‘Mystic Mac’ appropriately predicted his UFC future

Conor McGregor’s rise to turn into the largest star within the history of MMA saw him call his shots ahead of time.

At UFC 329, ‘The Notorious’ returns to the Octagon, with McGregor predicting a “demolition” when bringing back his ‘Mystic Mac’ moniker.

Max Holloway can have a prediction of his own but he wouldn’t be the primary fighter who has did not stop the Irishman’s manifestation from coming true.

Listed here are seven times that the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history was capable of deliver after telling his opponents how they’d fall short.

1. Diego Brandao – UFC Fight Night: Dublin, 2014

Just three fights into his UFC profession, Conor McGregor earned his first foremost event highlight when facing substitute opponent Diego Brandao in Dublin, Ireland.

‘The Notorious’ told his incredibly intense foe that he’d stop him in the primary round and make it look easy, which obviously didn’t sit well with Brandao.

“Individuals are saying that he starts well after which fades, I don’t think he’s even going to begin well,” McGregor added in a later interview. “I’m going to be straight at him off the gate and I feel he’s going to feel pressure like he never felt before. He’s going to be on his back foot and experience shots and movements that he’s never experienced before until ultimately he crumbles, and he’ll crumble.”

He did just that, and while Brandao put up a fight, he began to fade in the primary round before being stopped with slightly below a minute left within the opening stanza.

2. Dustin Poirier – UFC 178, 2014

After capping off an iconic night in Dublin, McGregor moved on to an opponent whom had also recently beaten Brandao, Dustin Poirier.

Once more, comments made by ‘The Mac’ visibly irritated his opponent ahead of what would find yourself being the primary of three meetings between the 2 rivals.

“His chin is deteriorating,” McGregor said. “Each contest he gets in, he hits one knee. A gust of wind, and he does the chicken dance. Coming up against me, that’s not going to be good.

“I’m going to crack him with a jab and he’s going to wobble, and I’m going to place him away early. It’s going to be a first-round KO. Mark my words.”

McGregor delivered one other first-round finish before officially coining his “Mystic Mac” nickname when talking to Joe Rogan contained in the Octagon.

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3. Chad Mendes – UFC 189, 2015

Conor McGregor was off the mark when predicting that he’d stop Chad Mendes inside 4 minutes to win his first UFC title.

Nonetheless, where he was correct was when he highlighted that his substitute opponent for the interim featherweight matchup wouldn’t have the option to last.

“I see one or two exchanges and one or two scrambles after which him having enough. He has a built-in excuse because he’s taken the fight on short notice,” he said. “One or two smacks across the chin and he can be done.”

Mendes was capable of record over five minutes of control time but despite having some success, he didn’t have the gas tank to keep up it.

When McGregor got back to his feet within the second round, he immediately took advantage of this and released a barrage of shots that his American foe couldn’t get out of the best way of to earn the stoppage win.

4. Jose Aldo – UFC 194, 2015

The best prediction ‘Mystic Mac’ has ever made got here before he pulled off probably the most iconic UFC title win within the history of the promotion.

It didn’t take a body language expert to discover that Jose Aldo was getting into the fight in an emotional state following McGregor’s constant taunting of the legendary champion.

“Each movement I make, I’ll get an over-reaction out of him because he’s emotionally invested in it…That’s how I see the fight playing out,” McGregor said. “I see him over reacting, over extending, then KO’d unconscious.”

The interim champion elaborated on this in a later interview following a stare down between them, where he felt like Aldo’s right hand was “twitching”.

“He’s able to unload that right hand but I feel that might be a downfall for him,” he added. “If he lets that right hand go, I is not going to be there.”

McGregor perfectly capitalized on this exact thing when he was capable of counter an aggressive right hand from Aldo to drop him with a left and end considered one of the game’s biggest title reigns in only 13 seconds.

5. Nate Diaz – UFC 202, 2016

McGregor’s mystic radar was off when he said he’d repay the favor to Nate Diaz by stopping him within the second round after he was submitted of their first meeting.

Nonetheless, ‘The Notorious’ learned from the mistakes he made in his first UFC loss and suggested before their huge rematch that he’d be more patient this time around.

“I see myself being patient but still pressing forward and I just visualize all my shots landing, that’s it,” he said. “I’m anticipating him to be there for the complete distance. I’ll fight for five rounds.”

Despite suffering three knockdowns, Diaz was capable of go the space similar to McGregor said.

The Irishman was forced to dig deep through some tough moments before coming out on top via a majority decision.

6. Eddie Alvarez – UFC 205, 2016

McGregor was confident that unlike his two fights with Diaz, Eddie Alvarez wouldn’t have the option to resist his output and wouldn’t make it out of the primary round.

Once more, his prediction was improper, but, his thoughts on how the defending lightweight champion would lose his belt were still accurate.

“I actually have every part on him: reach, height, every part so I don’t see him getting out of the primary round,” McGregor stated. “If he does, great, I’ll take my hat off to his toughness; he’s a tricky dude. He can get in a fight and he’s been doing it an extended time but tough shouldn’t be enough to go against me.”

It took a 3rd knockdown to place Alvarez away within the second round and see McGregor make history as the primary simultaneous two-division UFC champion.

The entire talk concerning the threats Alvarez could pose to the Irishman didn’t factor into the fight, together with his elite striking completely nullifying the American from start to complete.

7. Donald Cerrone – UFC 246, 2020

A really different version of McGregor returned to the Octagon in 2020 and made his ‘Mystic Mac’ prediction with a smile on his face.

This rather more nice construct to considered one of his fights than fans have seen each before and after he faced Donald Cerrone resulted in McGregor simply stating that he’d knock out ‘Cowboy’.

Cerrone’s track record meant that this wasn’t a wild prediction by any means but even with that in mind, few would have expected the fight to be as quick because it was.

Combining various effective striking techniques led to McGregor putting away his gunslinger opponent in 40 seconds, delivering on his straightforward prediction with ruthless efficiency.