Conor McGregor's rise to power in the UFC has been as remarkable as it has been swift.
It is sometimes difficult to believe that it's been just over three years since the boy from Crumlin overwhelmed Marcus Brimage in Stockholm to make his debut for the world's largest MMA promotion - and it's even more remarkable to consider that McGregor was on the shelf for 9 months of that time after blowing out his knee against Max Holloway in his second UFC bout.
With anticipation considerably ramping up ahead of McGregor's must-win clash with Nate Diaz, the UFC have released an infographic (see below) which charts the Dubliner's dramatic rise through their featherweight division and, when you see it all laid out like this, it reminds you exactly how incredible McGregor's run in the UFC has been thus far.
Meanwhile, Dana White has confirmed that McGregor's next fight will be a defence of his 145lb title regardless of the outcome of the UFC 202 main event.
White said to UFC.com that McGregor must return to the featherweight division for his next bout, though newly-crowned lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez has also added his name to the list of prospective future McGregor opponents. White says he expects the McGregor/Diaz rematch to be the biggest fight in UFC history.
I fully expect Conor to come back and defend his 145-pound title [but]just stylistically and the way these guys fight, it’s impossible for Diaz-McGregor not to be a ridiculous fight. If you look at the first fight, Conor was absolutely just dominating and then gassed out. Diaz took every ounce of punishment and then as soon as he saw Conor started to slow down and was tired, he jumped right on him. It’s everything you love as a fight fan.
