UFC
UFC Fight Night 46 Results: Conor McGregor stops Diego Brandao in the first, blows roof off the O2 Arena
Jul 19, 2014 - 4:15:41 PM UFC Fight Night 46 Results: Conor McGregor stops Diego Brandao in the first, blows roof off the O2 Arena

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Conor McGregor's not a worldwide UFC superstar just yet, but he's keeping himself on that path after scoring his third win in the organization in front of a roaring crowd in his home country of Ireland on Saturday.

McGregor stopped Diego Brandao in the final minute of the first round, surviving an early attempted onslaught from the Brazilian, and out-working him on the ground, before taking him out with strikes against the cage. The crowd exploded at the finish, capping off a successful night for the country, with all of its home grown fighters on the card picking up wins.

The brash and outspoken McGregor has been pushed to the moon by the UFC already, and though he hasn't reached full-on transcendent star status, he's certainly getting reactions.

After the fight, while being interview by Dan Hardy, McGregor said he was going to go to the back, have some "fine ass whiskey" with UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta, and talk about getting into football stadiums and getting title fights. The crowd ate it up, staying at a roar as they tried to blow the roof off the O2 Arena.

Penick's Analysis: For as much as he's not fully there yet, it's undeniable that McGregor's got something special there. There's going to continue to be some pushback until he's beaten someone established as a top end competitor, but it also helps the UFC to bring him along slower than that. If he gets thrown into the deep end, he might just drown, but if he continues to build up his skills against the middle of the pack, he'll be right in the mix at the top sooner than later.