After suffering a shock defeat to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 - by submission, no less - the Irishman's pride was badly battered.
But he dug deep on Saturday night (or Sunday morning for us) and went beyond the third round for the first time in his career to claim a majority decision win over the Stockton fighter.
It was a more cerebral performance from the featherweight champion this time around, as he was clearly afraid of repeating the mistakes of last March by over exerting himself in the early stages of the fight and leaving himself with no energy by the end of the second round.
Even when he managed to get Diaz on the floor, he remained patient and allowed the American to return to his feet, where he felt he would have the advantage, instead of being dragged into a grappling match on the floor which ended his win streak last time out.
It certainly was a more thoughtful Conor McGregor inside the octagon, and to go along with this The Notorious has been doing his best to cultivate a similar image outside of the ring as of late.
Before and after the fight, the featherweight champion was seen in what are now becoming his trademark specs.
Of course, not everyone had seen them before tonight, and so the merciless mocking began.
It was a more cerebral performance from the featherweight champion this time around, as he was clearly afraid of repeating the mistakes of last March by over exerting himself in the early stages of the fight and leaving himself with no energy by the end of the second round.
Even when he managed to get Diaz on the floor, he remained patient and allowed the American to return to his feet, where he felt he would have the advantage, instead of being dragged into a grappling match on the floor which ended his win streak last time out.
It certainly was a more thoughtful Conor McGregor inside the octagon, and to go along with this The Notorious has been doing his best to cultivate a similar image outside of the ring as of late.
Before and after the fight, the featherweight champion was seen in what are now becoming his trademark specs.
