Conor McGregor’s heavy hands almost always leave their mark.
When Firas Zahabi started saying that Conor McGregor had the ‘touch of death’ in his hands, no one contested it. That’s because it’s a fair description of the knockout power he can generate with his cinder-block fists.
With 18 of his 22 MMA wins coming by way of knockout, it’s easy to see why he’s revered as an artist at rendering fighters unconscious.
He has many strengths, but his stand-out weapon inside the Octagon is undeniably his hands. So in order to illustrate just how effective these money makers are, we’ve put together a selection of images showing the damage they’ve done his UFC opponents’ faces.
You can see the spirit drain from their faces https://t.co/VIJxOzFYXT
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 11, 2018
April 6, 2013 – Marcus Brimage: first-round TKO win
It was tough trying to find an image of Brimage’s face after this contest. This was clearly a showcase bout for the debutant, so McGregor absorbed most of the cameras’ focus after the finish. Plus, Brimage didn’t appear to be that active on social media during the time of the fight.
However, there was a brief shot of Brimage on the ground staring down at his own blood splattered on the canvas. McGregor pieced him up on the feet, caught him rushing forward with some lethal uppercuts before finishing it off on the mat.
August 17, 2013 – Max Holloway: unanimous decision win
Back before Max Holloway went on that ridiculous run before becoming the undisputed featherweight king, he was soundly beaten by McGregor. ‘The Notorious’ couldn’t put him away, but dominated him over three rounds.
Post-fight x-rays revealed that McGregor tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the fight, which caused him to rely on his wrestling to take this fight. While he didn’t let his hands go the way we had become accustomed to seeing, he still did a lot of work from the top position and on the feet.
July 19, 2014 – Diego Brandao: first-round TKO win
The best thing you could say about Brandao’s performance against McGregor is that it was mercifully short.
Once McGregor began finding home with his hands, Brandao’s offence completely shut down. Towards the end of the first round, he cautiously backed up towards the fence allowing McGregor to move in for the kill. His reward for coming into the lion’s den as a heavy underdog was a nasty shiner.
September 27, 2014 – Dustin Poirier: first-round TKO win
Oddly enough, Poirier managed to outland McGregor by a single punch in this short war.
After all that build-up, all that beef and all that animosity, McGregor made light work of the fellow prospect. He clipped him over the ear, took away his equilibrium and that was all she wrote.
It happened so quickly that ‘the Diamond’ managed to avoid receiving much damage. You wouldn’t even have guessed he was in a fight that night from the slight redness around his cheek and eye.
January 18, 2015 – Dennis Siver: second-round TKO win
Siver got fucked up.
This was an odd booking by the promotion because McGregor was knocking on the door of a title shot. With all respect to the German veteran, he was nowhere near the title frame at this point.
However, Siver managed to just about survive the first round but was overwhelmed by strikes in the second. McGregor pounded his face into hamburger meat.
July 11, 2015 – Chad Mendes: second-round TKO win
This was one of those weird contests where the loser actually looked less battle-worn after the fight had finished. Mendes bloodied up McGregor on the ground, but the Irishman stood back up to send the late notice replacement crashing down to the canvas in the second.
A flurry of punches and kicks started the fight-ending sequence and a vicious one-two combination dropped him. After the fight, Mendes would state that it was McGregor’s accuracy rather than his power that gives him that penchant for KO-ing adversaries.
December 12, 2015 – Jose Aldo: first-round KO win
We all know what happened in UFC 194’s main event.
13 seconds is all it took. One left hand followed by a couple of hammerfists later and the new champion was crowned.
March 5, 2016 – Nate Diaz: second-round submission loss
The first round was competitive although McGregor’s power advantage saw him take it comfortably enough. His power shots caused the Stockton native’s scar tissued face to leak profusely.
However, through streams of blood, Diaz persevered and came back to score one of the most famous submission wins in UFC history. His face was more battered, but his hand was raised and a beautiful rivalry was born.
August 20, 2016 – Nate Diaz II: majority decision win
The rematch was more bloody.
Five rounds it lasted with momentum swings throughout. Like the first fight, Diaz landed more shots, but McGregor landed the more impactful strikes. The early knockdowns, in particular, left Diaz’s face in a face. However, he managed to survive until the bitter end and actually finished the fight on top.
Both men left it all inside the Octagon that night.
November 12, 2016 – Eddie Alvarez: second-round TKO win
If McGregor brought the dog out in Eddie Alvarez, the Irishman was the vet on hand to put him down.
Alvarez was thoroughly outclassed in the lightweight title fight and he never really recovered after getting dinged early. McGregor turned his granite chin to rubble and made history. Alvarez made his first ever million dollar payday, but not with the result he would have hoped for.
