After almost a full year away battling injuries, Conor McGregor made his return to the cage today (Sat., July 19, 2014) in front of his people at The O2 in Dublin, Ireland, in a main event match-up opposite Brazilian banger Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46.
They both talked a lot of trash leading up to the contest, though most of that was McGregor egging on his opponent and Brandao playing right in to it. Finally, the time came to stop talking and start fighting.
They did just that, too, wasting no time finding each other in the center of the cage and exchanging punches and kicks. Brandao went high for the head early, and McGregor responded with a spinning wheel kick. They slowed down just enough for McGregor to earn a takedown, but all he did from there was avoid rapid fire submission attempts.
Once they got back to their feet, that's where Conor found success.
Brandao wilted under the pressure of his hard charging opponent. A body shot took the wind out and a follow up left hand put Diego down. The ensuing onslaught wasn't answered with anything more than covering up.
It wasn't long before the referee stepped in to stop it.
The roof blew off the place.
Conor McGregor is a star, y'all.
For more on "McGregor vs. Brandao" click here, For complete UFC Fight Night 46 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.