3 times Conor McGregor tried to be a grappler in the UFC – and failed

Despite the fact that he’s coming off two losses to Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor remains one of the most effective strikers in UFC history, with a number of memorable knockouts to his name.

Conor McGregor will always be renowned for his lethal striking game – particularly the power in his hands. But it’s safe to say he’s never likely to be recognised as a top wrestler.

That isn’t to say the Irishman doesn’t have some grappling in his arsenal. He may not show it often, but he notably used his takedowns to defeat Max Holloway in 2013, for instance.

However, for the most part, when ‘The Notorious’ has used his grappling in the octagon, it has tended to backfire on him and gotten him into more trouble than it’s worth.

On that note, here are three occasions Conor McGregor tried to be a grappler in the UFC and failed.

#3. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz – UFC 202

When Conor McGregor first took on Nate Diaz at UFC 196, he made a huge error in his gameplan that we’ll get to later. The loss was the catalyst for one of the biggest rivalries in UFC history, and also led to an epic rematch just five months later at UFC 202.

‘The Notorious’ won the second fight via split decision. But it certainly didn’t come easy for him, and there was an argument that he actually made things more difficult for himself than he needed to.

McGregor began the rematch brilliantly, keeping his distance from Diaz to land long left hands and leg kicks on him. It quickly became clear the blows were taking their toll as Diaz ended up on the canvas on more than one occasion in both the first and second rounds. However, once the Irishman slowed down somewhat, Diaz began to pressure him with his own combination strikes, forcing McGregor onto his back foot.

And rather than attempt to keep his distance, McGregor made the error of clinching with his opponent. Not only was that an error due to Diaz’s slightly superior size, it was also instantly clear ‘The Notorious’ was no Randy Couture in close quarters.

Essentially every time the two men locked up, Nate Diaz would get the better of things, muscling McGregor to the fence. And while the Irishman was able to block the majority of his takedown attempts, he wasn’t able to get off any meaningful offense, while Diaz continually worked him over with strikes.

Diaz eventually slowed down somewhat himself – allowing McGregor to open up with his striking again as he’d done in the early rounds. That was enough to win the fight for ‘The Notorious’. But it was safe to say that judging by this, Conor McGregor would never be able to consider himself a Greco-Roman wrestling expert.

#2. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 264

Despite holding a record of 22-5 coming into his third meeting with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, submission victories were notably missing from Conor McGregor’s ledger. In fact, ‘The Notorious’ had just one to his name – a 2012 rear naked choke win over Dave Hill prior to his UFC career.

That’s why it was so baffling to see him attempt a low-percentage submission hold – a guillotine choke – on ‘The Diamond’ when he was faced with a takedown attempt in the opening round.

To see Conor McGregor go for the move was a shocker in itself when his previous UFC fights were considered. The Irishman had been grounded on a number of occasions – most notably by Chad Mendes and Khabib Nurmagomedov – and each time, he’d always focused his energy on getting to his feet.

So to see him lock his arms around Poirier’s neck and wrench unsuccessfully to attempt a tapout win was an absolute head-scratcher.

Unsurprisingly, Poirier – a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – worked his head free of the hold and began to punish ‘The Notorious’ with elbows. McGregor did his best to escape, but incredibly, after seemingly upkicking Poirier away from him, he went for the guillotine for a second time.

The hold once again failed to work, and moments later, Poirier got to his feet and ended the fight with a right hand that caused McGregor to stumble, breaking his ankle in the process and ending the fight.

Could McGregor have won had he not attempted a guillotine? It’s hard to say, but it was clear he was probably unwise to attempt such a low-percentage hold on a much more proven grappler.

#1. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz – UFC 196

Coming into his late-notice fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 196, most fans believed Conor McGregor had a clear path to victory. He needed to outstrike Diaz on the feet – preferably knocking him out – and avoid the ground game at all costs.

After all, not only was ‘The Notorious’ largely unproven on the mat, but Diaz was also one of the most lethal grapplers in the UFC, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black-belt holder with a large array of submissions in his arsenal.

Early on in the fight, it looked like Conor McGregor would stick to that gameplan. He winged huge punches at his opponent, bloodying him up and seemingly hurting him on more than one occasion. However, there was one problem – Diaz simply wouldn’t go down, and ‘The Notorious’ was getting tired attempting to finish off Nate Diaz.

By the time the clash entered the second round, McGregor looked exhausted, and was seemingly beginning to run out of ideas. And when Diaz began to land strikes of his own, hurting the Irishman, ‘The Notorious’ made a tremendous error.

He decided to shoot for a takedown, and when Diaz snared his neck up in a guillotine choke attempt, McGregor made the mistake of rolling underneath his opponent to get free.

The move left Diaz in side mount, and within seconds, the native of Stockton took a full mount. From there, McGregor rolled and gave his back, and seconds later Diaz slapped on a rear naked choke and forced the Irishman to tap out.

Quite what possessed Conor McGregor to take such a dangerous grappler down remains a mystery. But it’s fair to say that at that stage, it was easily the biggest mistake of his UFC career.