Conor is 1-3 in the lightweight division against the very BEST in the division.
Win *Eddie Alvarez- Champion (Eddie had just defeated RDA and was the current 155 champ)
Loss *Khabib Nurmagomedov - # 1 (Conor was the champion, Khabib undefeated)
Loss *Dustin Poirier - # 1 (Dustin was the number 1 lightweight with Khabib retiring)
Loss *Dustin Poirier - # 1 (Dustin could have possibly been champion but chose to fight Conor first)
GOAT
Kinda tough not to count the Diaz and Cowboy fights, as they were all similarly sized guys who have made, and can make 155 without much of an issue, but chose to fight at 170 instead…especially the Diaz fights, because the original fight was supposed to be at 155, but it was short notice and Diaz asked for 160, then after Conor agreed came back asking about 162 or some shit, so Conor was like “tell that motherfucker 170.” Conor was ready, willing and able to make 155, and it was like 10 days before, so it’s not like he changed his frame for 170, he just didn’t cut much weight.
that said, I’ve always said that it’s tough to really say how good/great the guy is because after he left 145, he hasn’t fought enough contenders. Yes, a loss to Poirier and Khabib isn’t exactly a big deal, those guys are the very best in the game, Gaethje lost to them both too…but Gaethje also beat some other dudes too. Conor only has the losses to elite guys, and hasn’t fought anyone else.
He was able to skip over guys like Gaethje, Oliveira, Ferguson, Hooker…there’s tons of guys between 2-15 that he could fight, but I doubt we ever see it. It’ll be either money fights like Diaz/Masvidal, or title fights.