Getty Conor McGregor laughs after the first round against Khabib Nurmagomedov during UFC 229.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh shared an email sent by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby rejecting “Notorious” as a potential UFC fighter. As history has it, McGregor would eventually sign with the promotion in 2013 and became the biggest star in mixed martial arts history.
Kavanagh, who runs SBG Ireland, shared Shelby’s email, which was sent to Haraldur Nelson, the father of UFC welterweight fighter Gunnar Nelson, who has trained with McGregor at SBG Ireland.
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Shelby wrote:
Thanks for the email. If I can use any of your fighters, especially Conor, I will contact you. At the moment, the featherweight division is terribly impacted from so many UFC lightweights moving down in weight. So, I’m not looking to sign anyone else for a while, but, hopefully, it will clear up soon and guys like Conor will get the opportunity.
Notorious made his promotional debut on April 6, 2013, in the featherweight division against Marcus Brimage at UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi. Notorious put on a highly impressive performance, finish Brimage by TKO in the first round, jump-starting his meteoric rise in the promotion.
He went on to win the UFC lightweight and featherweight titles and has become the biggest superstar the sport has ever known. He has a current MMA record of 22-4 with 19 wins via KO or TKO.
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McGregor Went on a Dominant Run in the Featherweight Division After Signing With the UFC
Notorious made the most of the opportunity to fight for the UFC. After defeating Brimage in his promotional debut, McGregor took on future featherweight champ Max Holloway and won by unanimous decision.
The victory over Holloway landed McGregor in a main-event fight in his home country of Ireland. He fought Diego Brandao in Dublin and defeated the Brazilian by first-round TKO. He then defeated Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver by TKO in the first and second rounds, respectively.
The win over Siver earned Notorious a shot at featherweight gold against Jose Aldo. But, Aldo pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Chad Mendes. Mendes and McGregor fought for the interim featherweight strap, and the Irishman won by second-round TKO.
McGregor finally met Aldo inside the Octagon to unify the featherweight belt and he won by a stunning 13-second KO. The victory over Aldo marked McGregor’s last bout at featherweight and he eventually vacated the belt without defending it.
Notorious May Fight Poirier in His Next UFC Match
Last week, McGregor revealed on Twitter that he accepted a fight with Poirier with the stipulation that the fight must happen in 2020. The two fighters previously agreed to compete in a charity exhibition match, but it appears the match will likely happen in the UFC.
On October 8, McGregor tweeted to Poirier: “Hello Dustin! I accepted the [UFC’s] offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020. I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation.”
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