UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Conor McGregor Backs Up Talk With Early Stoppage of Diego Brandao

UFC Fight Night Dublin Results: Conor McGregor Backs Up Talk With Early Stoppage of Diego Brandao

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Irish sensation Conor McGregor backed-up all the talk he had done in the lead up to his bout with Diego Brandao on Saturday, stopping the Brazilian in the first round in front of a sold-out crowd at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin.

The fight started quick with McGregor throwing a spinning kick right off the bat. Brando fired back tagging McGregor with a couple of solid punches - the hardest McGregor will have been hit in his UFC career, before shooting for a take down which he couldn't get, and the action move towards the cage. Against the cage, McGregor hit a lateral drop takedown, where Brandao attempted a heel hook as McGregor tried to get up but the Irishman slipped out and rained down punches.

 As the bout went back to the feet, McGregor makes use of his 10-inch reach advantage, and hurt Brandao with a left. McGregor caught Brando again off a counter, dropping the Brazilian, and finished his opponent with ground strikes against the cage.

McGregor who moves to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in his UFC career, and is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster said:

“I’m going to go backstage with Mr. Lorenzo Fertitta, have a little whiskey, and talk about football stadium,”

"This is the feeling of success bursting through every vein in my body. I've been saying all week that I'd finish this guy in the first round - I seem to be predicting the future. I just felt comfortable - this is what I was put here to do. Something tells me that by the end of the year, I'll be world champion. I would turn over every man, woman and child to get that belt. And I want to fight again soon. I want to get straight back in there."